Desiderium
by DeathTheRabbit
Summary: Desiderium: an ardent desire or longing; especially: a feeling of loss or grief for something lost.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter One

It could be said that no birth in a clan of shinobi was easy, for more reason than one. Kohaku's birth was particularly difficult, by no fault of his own.

From the moment he entered the world, everything was a clashing of screaming and the sharp '_shriiiiing'_ of metal clanging against metal in what could only be shinobi fighting for their lives in the midst of an ambush they could not have predicted. Kohaku, for his part, did not contribute to the screaming, as babies usually did from the moment they were born.

Kohaku did not utter a sound as he was snatched away from a mother who had only had a moment to hold her treasured son before succumbing to a death caused not complications with the birth of her son, but instead at the hands of an enemy shinobi, who gave no care for the infant he would be orphaning.

If asked, Kohaku would not be able to speak of anything before he was found on the stoop of a rundown orphanage barely six months after his birth, clutching nothing but a heavy metal-sheeted umbrella disguised in beautifully patterned paper in one hand and in the other, the red tassels hanging from a naginata crafted so well that it would make even the greatest craftsmen weep with the knowledge that nothing they crafted could ever compare.

His earliest memories were of the way that the woman who ran the orphanage had stroked his pale blonde hair, which uniquely shimmered gold in the sun and silver in the moonlight, and the way she had spoken to her few helpers in hushed tones about his face.

"_It's so unsettling how he watches us...it's like he's calculating our every move...he looks just like a fox that's thinking about how to steal our bones from right beneath our skin…"_

It wasn't that the woman who ran the orphanage was cruel by nature; she had just never seen such a small infant with such a narrow, fox-like face and eyes that looked so devoid of the normal curiosity and wonder that children his age expressed freely.

Despite the way he looked, Kohaku was a normal, if somewhat quieter, child, and felt every unintentionally cruel word like a kunai to the heart.

With no parents to claim him, Kohaku lived the first few years of his life in the orphanage waiting for a foster family to take him in, but in a hidden village that was no stranger to war death, there were a devastating amount of orphans and not nearly enough kind souls willing to open their doors and hearts to keep up with the surge of orphans that increased with every major clash with another hidden village. Such were the hard facts of life.

It became clear early on in Kohaku's life that no one had any love for a fox-faced boy whose eyes looked as if they had already seen a thousand years of life, and so his caretaker at the orphanage allowed him to keep his metal umbrella and naginata, the two items that were much like a security blanket to him, and do as he pleased, provided that he kept out of sight when prospective parents came by to look over the children.

To no one's surprise, Kohaku did not thrive in the orphanage. It was not unusual for the other children to pick on him for the way he looked, and oftentimes they would outright bully him.

Kohaku rarely slept, for fear of having his precious belongings taken from him the moment he had let his guard down, which many of the children had already tried a myriad of times.

By the time Kohaku had turned five, he had taken to wandering the streets until the other children at the orphanage had fallen asleep, umbrella held lopsidedly over himself and his naginata trailing behind him in a comical sort of way that would be cute if not for the feral snarl he made every time some stranger got too close. It was not uncommon for him to come home covered in bruises after being unable to escape the cruelty of children who were afraid of the way he looked at everything around him.

It was the dawn of his sixth birthday that the caretaker roused him from his anxious sleep with the news that he would soon have his own place to call home.

Kohaku could not temper the excitement that shone in his peculiar mismatched eyes for the first time in his life when he was gifted with that new. Someone had finally come to take him to a new home, a far-fetched dream that he had held near and dear to his heart since the moment he had been capable of forming such a dream.

By that afternoon, all of his things had been packed into a single bag, minus the umbrella and naginata, which he carried clumsily as he followed the caretaker to his new home; a tiny apartment that had been gifted to him in exchange for his enrollment in the shinobi academy that he had passed by so many times but paid no mind to in his aimless journeys through the village.

It seemed that once again, his dreams were to be crushed. Kohaku didn't know how to feel about his new situation, but seemed to realize that his former caretaker had efficiently made him someone else's problem.

After all, what more could they do for him, when it seemed as if no one would want to adopt someone with such an unsettling face?

With the silence he had bound himself to for the entirety of his short life, Kohaku shut the fairly sturdy door to his new, tiny apartment behind him and surveyed his surroundings.

It felt cold and empty, much like his heart did after the realization that he was well and truly alone, without a single soul to rely on in such a cruel world. Not that this was such an uncommon occurrence in a hidden village such as this one. He had just been holding out the hope that someone would reach out a caring hand to him.

Kohaku leaned back against the wooden door and sank to the ground in a haphazard pile of limbs. A faint whimper that he tried so hard to hold back escaped his chapped lips, and he couldn't stop the torrent of tears that followed soon after.

The self-loathing that came with such weakness was almost too much for Kohaku to handle. He was the silent boy with the conniving face of a fox and dead eyes that seemed to peer into the deepest parts of one's mind with little effort. He was an orphan born into a world that seemed to want to chew him up and spit him right back out to show that he wasn't and never would be anything.

A heaving sigh escaped Kohaku's lips as he pushed himself up again, clutching the steel shaft of his naginata as if it were the only thing keeping him grounded in a storm that wanted nothing more than to tear him from the ground beneath his feet.

He was lost, but not yet willing to give in. If he had no purpose, then he would create a purpose for himself.

Perhaps this was an opportunity. He was being enrolled in the shinobi academy, since no one else would take him in. Perhaps this could be his purpose in his currently empty life. If he could forge himself into a worthy weapon with the help of the academy, then his life would no longer be without meaning.

Kohaku dragged himself down the hall, casting a blank glance into the tiny, but functional kitchen on his way to the tinier bedroom, which hosted only a small, rickety bed that would certainly be an improvement compared to the dingy mat he had shared with the other children. He set the umbrella down next to his bed, wiping his eyes vigorously to erase any sign that he had been crying.

Another soft sigh passed over his lips and he shut his mismatched eyes for just a moment, his delicate hands clutching the shaft of his naginata so hard that his knuckles turned white with the effort.

Kohaku opened his eyes again slowly and peered down at the weapon that had been left with him on the stoop of the orphanage when he was an infant. Yes, this was his purpose. This beautiful, precious instrument of death had been left with him for this purpose.

With these revelations, Kohaku curled up in his bed, skinny arms wrapped tightly around the shaft of his naginata, and shut his eyes.

When he entered the academy on his first day tomorrow, he would show no sign of weakness. He would put up his barriers up, as he did when the children at his orphanage bullied him, and never let anyone within them.

With these thoughts and a surety that Kohaku had never felt before, he drifted off into a restless sleep before he dedicated himself to his new purpose. It would be the last night that he let himself feel hopeless and lost, and the last night that he would ever let himself dream of something more than forging himself into a weapon.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

Forging oneself into was not such an easy task, as Kohaku soon found out. Despite his stubborn determination, the first few months he spent in the academy were tougher than he could have expected.

From that very first day, he had worked tirelessly in his studies. On paper and in theory, he understood the concepts that the kunoichi leading their class had been teaching them. But when it came to putting it into practice, Kohaku struggled.

From his days spent fighting the other children in the orphanage for every scrap of food they tried to take from him, he was malnourished and weak. His greatest strength, which had been gained from dodging rocks and other small objects children threw at him, was his speed. He was almost unmatched in speed compared to the rest of the class, and thus, very barely managed to keep himself from being the very last in his class.

Even so, it was not nearly enough for him. Every day, he spent, driving himself into the ground to build up his strength. He brushed off the friendly advances of the other students seated around him, guarding himself from the pain that would inevitably come from letting someone in.

Finally, several months after Kohaku had entered the academy, he was called back by the kunoichi that led their class, a chuunin by the name of Yuki Emiko, a short black haired woman, who had eyes like steel.

"Tenko-san, if you'd please stay behind for a moment." Emiko called, her low voice devoid of emotion.

Kohaku stopped and turned, the miniscule tilt of his head the only sign that he was questioning why he was being called back, when he'd done nothing wrong that he could think of, unless passing his neatly written notes to the struggling Obito, who sat directly in front of him, so discreetly that even Kakashi, prodigy in the class, had not noticed.

"Tenko-san. The effort you have put into your training is admirable, but you are still struggling." Emiko paused, studying Kohaku as if he were a frog that she were trying to dissect. "Your greatest strength is your speed, but it is rendered useless with the clumsy handling of your naginata."

Remaining silent, Kohaku fixed his gaze on Emiko, listening intently before tilting his head, as if asking 'how do I change this?'

Emiko stared down at the little boy, a soft sigh escaping her lips. The boy unnerved her sometimes, but he was dedicated to his training in a way that many of the students lacked. "You must remember the postures that come with handling a blade such as yours. I have never seen you to have any trouble using the blade as an extension of yourself, but it's not enough if you can't use it effectively."

Admittedly, Emiko was the sort to sit back and watch while her students improved, rather than playing an active part. It wasn't that she was remiss in her duties, but instead that she wished to see her students improve of their own volition, rather than being aggressively forced into action.

When Kohaku merely nodded in response to her words, she grimaced. "Outside of class, I want you to practice each strike you have been taught fifty times, or until you have become comfortable with the movement." Emiko watched the fox-faced child, her steely eyes scrutinizing his blank expression. "At the end of the month, I will test you on your progress."

Kohaku gave a short nod, but said nothing. Even now, he still did not speak. Less because he had no wish to, and more because he was afraid that those around him could find some sort of weakness in his words. Not to mention the fact that, by this point, he was not sure if he was even capable of putting his thoughts into words.

"You're dismissed, Tenko-san." Emiko said, watching as her young student left like a shadow in the night.

* * *

The next month, Emiko had them perform chakra tests to see what nature they had an affinity for. Most of the student's results had been expected, due to either clan genetics, such as with Obito's affinity for fire, or personality.

Kohaku's affinity for lightning was not a surprise to Emiko, though she had wondered at first if he might have an affinity for wind instead.

Staring down at his crinkled paper, Kohaku shrugged and set it down on his desk, facing forward once more to wait for Emiko to continue on with the rest of their class, expecting yet another explanation on chakra natures, which was really more for those students who hadn't paid attention the first few times she had explained it.

After a moment, Kohaku noticed someone staring at him, and shifted to his attention to Obito, who seemed to be the culprit. The faintest of frowns crossed his face and he tilted his head to the side in a questioning sort of way, as if to ask what he was staring at.

Obito, for his part, had never really treated him in the same way that others often did, never once commenting on his dead-eyed expressions or the way he resembled a fox, a kindness that Kohaku couldn't help but appreciate the tiniest bit.

Seeing that he had finally gotten Kohaku's attention, Obito shifted his chair closer to his desk and lowered his voice in as much of a whisper as he could manage. "Have you been passing these to me?" He lifted the neatly written notes that had been mysteriously appearing on his desk whenever he had been struggling.

Kohaku tilted his head and shrugged, neither wanting to admit or deny it. It was even a mystery to himself as to why he had been helping Obito. Perhaps it was because he was always trying so hard to do well, that he couldn't help but take pity on him.

"I asked everyone else, and no one admitted to it, so it has to be you, right?!" Obito's voice grew louder, and drew Rin's attention, though she stayed silent in her curiosity for the moment.

Another shrug from Kohaku, and Obito frowned in frustration. Conversations with Kohaku, if they could even be called as such, often went this way, no matter who tried to start up a conversation with him. Mostly by this point, everyone had given up on trying to get to know him, since it was like talking to a rock.

It didn't take long for Obito to give up this time, as he had been through this routine several times already without becoming any closer to success. This time was no different, although, as Obito glanced away, he thought he imagined the faintest of smiles appear on Kohaku's face before disappearing.

The rest of class passed without much else happening, and everyone seemed to be restless to leave, more so than usual.

Kohaku was also feeling restless, but perhaps for a different reason. After class, he was to be tested by Emiko on the skills he had been practicing on his own time. If he was being honest with himself, he felt as if he had grown more confident with wielding his naginata, though he still didn't know what to do with his umbrella when he was using his naginata. He refused to be parted from either item, but lacked the skills to use both, something he hoped he could overcome with time.

The test went better than either Kohaku or Emiko had expected. Kohaku's movements had grown more fluid, and he lacked most of the hesitation he had trained with in the month previously. It was not perfect, of course, but it was finally beginning to feel as if his efforts were paying off.

A few more months passed by in a flash, and Kakashi, along with another quiet student that Kohaku had never learned the name of, graduated and became genin, leaving the classroom feeling just a bit emptier than before.

It was only a year after that, that Kohaku decided that he was ready to take the graduation test along with the majority of the other students, and passed with little difficulty, finally earning the headband that marked him as a shinobi of the leaf.

* * *

A/N: Thanks everyone for reading! Since the question has been asked in reviews on most of my other fics, including this one, no, Remnants is not cancelled. It is, however, on hiatus until I find my muse for writing it again. I very much appreciate your feedback, and hope you all enjoy this fic!


	3. Chapter 3

Kohaku found himself assigned to a particularly strange team after he passed his graduation test, though it would soon prove to be an advantage.

Team Three, as they had been dubbed so far, consisted of Kohaku, Shiranui Genma, and Akagi Ichika, an older girl that Kohaku had never really paid much attention to in class, despite her problem with volume control.

Leading Team Three was, oddly enough, a pair of jounin who seemed to do everything together, or so Kohaku had heard rumors of. A pair of fraternal twins, Hajikano Hisayo and Hisahito were both regarded as intelligent and dedicated shinobi, if perhaps a little odd sometimes.

Kohaku soon discovered that it was near impossible to tell their new team leaders apart, despite them not being identical twins. He noted their bright green eyes, nearly the same shade as Might Guy's jumpsuit, and white hair, cut short and spiked up in the back. He noted that the way they walked was even identical, and Kohaku couldn't help but wonder if even they knew who was who.

"Alright, brats, listen up." One of them spoke up, arms crossed over their chest and eyes narrowed as they studied each of their new students. "I'm Hajikano Hisayo, and this is my brother Hisahito. As long as you leave your problems at home, we'll get along just fine. I don't care about your tragic backstories, and I certainly don't want to hear about them. Am I clear?"

Hisahito cleared his throat, nudging Hisayo. "Please don't mind my sister. We are, of course, here for you if you have any concerns. But...be warned, that training will not be easy. We will push you to your limits, and then beyond that. We will push you until you beg for rest, and even past that." He tilted his head, shifting his weight to his left foot, while his sister shifted her weight to the right.

Kohaku nodded silently, while Genma merely grunted in response. Ichika, on the other hand, rolled her eyes and crossed her arms, immediately catching Hisayo's piercing glare. It was clear to see that there would be a lot of friction between Ichika and Hisayo, and Kohaku could only hope that this wouldn't interfere with his training.

Their first lesson began the next day, with each of the newly appointed genin waiting quietly under a tree in the furthest most training grounds from the village. Here, it was quiet and near impossible to hear the hustle and bustle of village.

Hisayo and Hisahito arrived ten minutes after they did, sauntering in as if they hadn't a care in the world. Yet, as Kohaku watched them intently, he noticed the way each step was deliberate and without hesitation. They didn't pause to assess whether or not there were rocks in front of them or to see if the grass was soggy and would sink beneath their feet.

"Hey, what took you so long?!" Ichika asked, a disapproving expression on her face as she placed her hands on her hips.

Kohaku exchanged a glance with Genma, each letting out a quiet sigh that was enough for each of them to know that this was going to be a very unpleasant team dynamic. It seemed as if Ichika was going to bring hell down upon them in full force, if Hisayo's expression was anything to go by.

"So impatient, Akagi-san." Hisahito let out a sigh and shook his head. "Impatience will get you killed. You _must_ take the time to assess the situation before leaping into action. I'd rather not attend another of my student's funerals."

Ichika huffed, but remained silent after that, regarding Hisayo and Hisahito as one would regard a cockroach. For whatever reason, she wasn't impressed with their new leaders, and Kohaku couldn't bring himself to care enough to bother with it.

"Stand up straight, brats, and we'll get started." Hisayo said, crossing her arms. There was an edge to her voice that Kohaku didn't like. It reminded him of something that he could not put his finger on, and though he tried to remember what it was, it slipped his mind like a spectre disappearing into the shadows.

Kohaku straightened his posture, watching Hisayo and Hisahito obediently as they drew closer. The tiniest tingle of excitement made his heart beat just a little faster. This was it. Finally, he was getting closer to the point that he could really begin to forge himself into the weapon he wanted to become.

"Our first lesson will be on 'purpose.'" Hisayo began, scanning their faces. "Not the purpose of your life, but of the purpose of your movements. You must move with purpose. No hesitation or impatience. You must be deliberate and disciplined in everything you do."

Kohaku tilted his head just slightly as he listened to them, keeping his face free and clear of emotion. While it was certainly not the sort of lesson he had been hoping for, he could definitely see why it was important to start with this. He had learned in his days running from the children that bullied him that even a split second of indecision or hesitation was enough for them to catch up to him.

"We'll start by having spars to assess your skills. We'll go one on one. I'll start with you, Akagi-san. The others will watch and point out what they see that you can improve on." Hisahito smiled, patting Ichika's shoulder before steering her out farther into the training field.

The pair stood about ten feet apart, each watching the other with different expressions on their faces; Hisahito with unfettered curiosity, and Ichika with undisguised hatred.

Their spar was over before it even began; even Kohaku could see that. It wasn't as if Ichika hadn't tried her best. It was just that she hadn't listened to a single thing they had told her. The moment the spar began, Ichika unleashed her strongest fire jutsu, which, if Kohaku were being completely honest with himself, was rather impressive, even if it lacked the direction and force necessary behind it.

Ichika was entirely too hasty, and Hisahito had no trouble predicting that she wouldn't even try to analyze her opponent before striking. She wanted to end it quickly, that much was clear, and it backfired massively.

Hisahito was fast, faster than any of them had actually expected, and he was able to whip around the stream of flames that Ichika spit out, a faintly visible blur, And then Ichika was on the ground, sputtering and coughing, as if she'd had the wind knocked out of her, though no one had seen the blow land.

Genma's spar was next, and he lasted a little longer against Hisahito, although even he was caught off guard by Hisahito's speed. Hisayo merely gave a little nod in what appeared to be approval as she watched Genma. She'd hardly given Ichika a glance when her spar had ended, but gave Genma positive feedback.

Up next, was Kohaku. He stepped out into the training field, studying Hisahito intently. He held his naginata in the middle position, ready to go on either the offensive or defensive. After all his extra training, and those nights that he trained until he passed out, each pose was like second nature to him, and he had no trouble wielding the long weapon, despite it being nearly twice his height.

Hisayo called for the spar to begin, and Kohaku remained as still as a statue, his mismatched eyes fixed on Hisahito intently, studying his posture to see if he could predict how he would react or attack.

Kohaku slowly began circling closer to Hisahito, his naginata steady in his hands, and not a sign of hesitation or fear on his narrow face. As he approached, his eyes shifted towards the tiniest movement his opponent's left hand made, noticing the kunai that he deftly slid from his sleeve and into his hand.

At first, it seemed as if neither was going to make the first move.

And then Kohaku struck, striking low, for Hisahito's shin, drawing the blade in a swift downward motion before drawing it back and switching postures. The blade slashed against Hisahito's shin guard, sparks flashing up from the impact.

He struck again, almost as soon as he had switched postures, this time flipping it so that he could ram the pointed ishizuki into Hisahito's gut with as much force as he could manage. This time, his attack was deflected by the kunai Hisahito had armed himself with.

Kohaku switched postures again, dragging the blade upwards and then back in a savage swing, before leaping backwards as Hisahito dove under his strike to take advantage of his open spot.

He was able to deflect a few more blows from Hisahito, and even managed to land one himself before he was flat on his back after a lightning quick blow, eyes to the sky as he wondered what had just happened. His breaths came in quiet pants as he sat up and peered at Hisahito's outstretched hand.

"Not bad, kid. Tenko, was it? I'm impressed you managed to keep up as well as you did. You did well to keep me at a distance, and your strikes were well timed, but you overestimated yourself." Hisahito carefully pulled Kohaku to his feet and ruffled his hair affectionately. "You're fast."

By the end of the day, Kohaku couldn't help but feel a little bit of pride for the praise he'd received. He walked home with a little bit more of a bounce in his step than usual, completely unprepared for the hellish training that would begin the next day.


	4. Chapter 4

For the first several months, Hisayo and Hisahito did not let their new genin team take on even the easiest of missions available to them, instead taking the time to put them through brutal training regimens that none of the three quite wanted to remember.

Finally, after Hisayo and Hisahito had deemed them suitable to start taking on missions, they had little trouble with whatever was thrown at them, although they did wish for something more challenging.

Eventually, there came a day that Hisayo and Hisahito had been needed for a mission most suitable to their skills. They bid their students farewell and temporarily split them into the other genin teams.

Kohaku paid very little attention to which team Ichika was assigned, merely glad that he no longer had to deal with her problems with volume control and the constant arguments between her and Hisayo. However, he did think that he would rather miss having Genma as his teammate in the time that they would be separated, as much as he didn't want to admit it.

Either way, Kohaku was glad for the change. He felt he had made great progress in the time he had spent under Hisayo and Hisahito, but he was sure that being in another team for a while would benefit him greatly.

His first meeting with the new team he had temporarily been assigned to was held in the training fields closest to the village. Admittedly, Kohaku had never been to any of the training fields, save for the one farthest from the village, which also happened to be the one that remained deserted most of the time. Hisayo and Hisahito had chosen that particular spot because it was easier to concentrate without the village noises, and also because it was less likely that someone would intervene with Hisayo and Hisahito's spartan training regimens, which were regarded with disdain for how often it sent their students to the hospital, although none of their current team had yet ended up needing actual medical treatment yet.

Kohaku sat on the fence and waited silently. He was ten minutes early, and took the opportunity to study his surroundings and work on a technique that Hisahito had taught him in one of their one on one training sessions.

He quietly crossed his legs and closed his eyes, taking a deep breath. Then he began to regulate his breathing, taking the time to bring himself into a tranquil state of calm.

And then everything burst into life around him. He could feel the bird ten feet away bursting into flight after a worm burrowing into the ground. Twenty feet to his left, he could feel the rapid thumping of a rabbit's heart as it raced for its burrow. All around him, he could see the little rustlings of animals nearby in his mind's eye, and worked on extending that field of vision.

Kohaku's concentration was shattered when he felt someone appear behind him faster than he had been able to detect. Without any trace of surprise on his face, he opened his eyes and slowly turned to see who it was. He wasn't worried, because if it had been an enemy, he would have already been dead because he had not been quick enough to detect him.

He tilted his head when he saw Namikaze Minato behind him. Neither Hisayo nor Hisahito had told them which teams they were being lent to temporarily, wanting to keep it a surprise, and also likely to scare them.

"You must be Tenko-san?" It was phrased as a question, but it was easy to see that Minato already knew the answer.

Kohaku nodded briefly, but said nothing, as usual. He tilted his head, studying Minato closely. He had never met Minato in person, but he had heard talk of him around the village. He wasn't sure how much of it to believe, but so far, Minato seemed relatively normal compared to his own team leaders, who both had quirks that Kohaku often pretended he didn't notice, because, quite frankly, they were rather disturbing.

"Not one for talking?" Minato asked, leaning against the fence while they both waited for the other three to arrive, which hopefully wouldn't take much longer.

A shrug was the only answer that Kohaku gave him, his piercing mismatched blue and red eyes focused intently on Minato. Even if he were one for speaking, he wasn't even certain that he would know what to say.

Minato just gave him a smile and patted his head, ruffling his fluffy golden hair. There was a strange sadness to his smile, but Kohaku couldn't figure out what could be causing it.

Kohaku was more focused on wondering why people seemed to enjoy ruffling his hair like that. It wasn't that he minded, but it did give him a strange feeling. It was soothing in a way, and almost reassuring, though he could never figure out why.

Soon enough, Kakashi, Rin, and Obito all arrived, although Obito was several minutes late. None of them seemed surprised to see Kohaku, and both Rin and Obito offered him warm smiles, while Kakashi remained expressionless.

Shortly after they all finally arrived, Minato began to go over the mission they were taking on. It was a simple enough mission for the four genin and Minato to handle. They were just to retrieve a scroll from a shinobi near the border they shared with the land of rivers. It wasn't vital information, so it was unlikely that anything would go wrong, which was why Minato had chosen it as the first mission they were to take with Kohaku as their temporary new addition; it would give them all a chance to become more acquainted with their new member and learn how to work with him.

Once they had prepared, the group set off on their mission, leaving Konoha behind at a quick pace. The journey to the border was pleasant enough, although Obito talked quite a bit more than Kohaku had been expecting. He didn't mind it all that much, though, since Obito was always quite friendly, even to him.

The first half of the mission went just fine, and they managed to retrieve the scroll, which was given to Kakashi to hold onto while they traveled back. Minato sent the four of them on ahead while he made a little detour. He had promised to return before they had to stop for the night.

Naturally, Kakashi had been left in charge, and he led the other three in a straight path, taking care to keep an eye on their surroundings to make certain that they didn't run into any trouble.

The group had barely gone a mile when they were ambushed. One shinobi stopped them from continuing forward, while the other came from behind to keep them from backtracking. The headbands they wore were so savagely slashed through, that it was difficult to tell which village these missing nin originated from.

Immediately, Kohaku backed up closer to the other three, while they did the same, trying to make it so that it would be harder to split them up. As he analyzed the two shinobi, he could not tell what rank they were, but that they were at least three times their age, and had years of battle experience that the four genin did not have.

Thinking things through, Kohaku realized that their best chance of completing the mission would be for one or two of them to distract the enemy while the others escaped with the scroll, and then all the ones who stayed behind would have to do would be to survive until Minato arrived.

Kohaku nudged Kakashi as the missing nin slowly closed in on them. They were speaking, but he paid no mind to what they were saying, instead trying to make Kakashi understand his plan without speaking.

At first, Kakashi didn't seem to want to go along with whatever Kohaku suggested, but eventually nodded, discreetly passing the scroll over to Kohaku. Kakashi would be the best one to distract the missing nin, and Kohaku decided in that split second that he would also stay.

Shifting his gaze to Obito, he slowly passed the scroll to him, making eye contact with both him and Rin, giving a quick nod to confirm Rin's silent question.

The moment that both Obito and Rin understood the plan, Kohaku and Kakashi leapt into action, each launching themselves at one of the shinobi. It was clear from just his expression that Obito did not like this plan, and in fact, he tried to stay behind to help, allowing Rin to drag him away only when she promised that as soon as the scroll was safe and they had found Minato, they would come back.

Even so, Kohaku noticed Obito glancing back several times as he and Rin made their escape. "Don't die until we get back!" He shouted finally before disappearing from sight, and the cliche phrase made Kohaku smile just a little.

It was clear within a few moves that both Kohaku and Kakashi were outmatched and outclassed. Kohaku guessed that they had been higher ranked jounin, or something even above that before they had deserted their village.

Kohaku kept the taller shinobi at bay as much as he could, ignoring her savage insults and name-calling. His only advantage was that he was smaller and faster and good at keeping people at a distance.

Behind him, Kakashi was doing somewhat better than he was, managing to land one or two blows before having to leap back to avoid a vicious strike.

If they were to survive this encounter, both he and Kakashi would have to come up with some sort of plan before they became exhausted or slipped up.

Kohaku switched into the upper level posture, naginata above his head as he swiftly approached the missing nin he was focused on keeping busy, analyzing the risks of staying in a posture that was not meant for defense.

It didn't matter, because a moment later, he struck, the blade slashing forward fast across her forearm before he dragged it back to keep up his smooth movements.

Using a naginata required some knowledge of centrifugal force, which made up for Kohaku's lack of physical strength. By keeping his movements loose and fluid, and by going with the flow, he was able to strike with enough force to make the missing nin pause, her eyes wide with shock, and then rage when she realized that a mere child had injured her.

Behind him, there was a grunt and a pained exhale of breath. Kohaku glanced back for just a second, long enough to see Kakashi crash into the ground after he had been unable to avoid a particularly savage blow. Kakashi was a prodigy and extremely talented, but even he wasn't invulnerable.

Kohaku wasn't really sure what made him do it, but a moment later, he was switching direction. He heard the laugh of the other missing nin as he launched himself towards the recovering Kakashi. He leapt in front of him, swinging up to block a killing blow meant for Kakashi, nearly crumpling beneath the older shinobi's strength.

Then he ducked low, swinging his naginata in a sweeping blow meant to make their opponents back away. He stood over Kakashi while he recovered from a blow that had likely broken a rib or two.

It wasn't enough to keep both missing nin at bay. The moment his long-reaching blade swept towards one missing nin, the other nin launched towards his unguarded back.

Kohaku tried to swing around to block the blow, but he was too slow. The blade came down swiftly and without an ounce of mercy, digging into the soft flesh just below his left eye and carving a vicious wound down past the corner of his mouth.

He stumbled with the force of the attack, blood splashing down his face and onto the flattened grass below them.

Kakashi was up again in a flash, his back against Kohaku's as he tried to fend off the other shinobi. He blocked the most devastating blows, ignoring the shallow cuts that were left by the swifter and weaker attacks.

Both he and Kohaku fought desperately, managing to drive them back briefly before the force of their blows let them close the distance again. It was a losing battle, but neither were ready to give up, despite their odds.

Suddenly, a savage blow landed across Kohaku's head, black and white dots flooding his vision as he fought to stay upright. He swung his naginata weakly again as the world spun around him, but dropped to the ground as his knees gave way.

Kohaku struggled to get back up, realizing how bad it would be if he didn't. His eyes blinked shut for a moment as he forced himself to his knees despite the splitting pain and overwhelming dizziness.

The moment he opened his eyes, it was a totally different scene. The two missing nin had been dispatched and four sets of eyes were watching him anxiously. A soft sigh escaped his lips as he slowly pushed himself up, realizing that he must have lost consciousness.

"Are you alright?" Minato asked, helping him sit up.

Kohaku nodded slowly, frowning at the dizziness that came with the movement. He let out a deep sigh as the world slowly shifted back into place.

Feeling more like himself, he turned his attention to Kakashi in a questioning manner, silently asking if he was alright. After a moment, he reached out slowly and patted Kakashi's head, ruffling his hair up the same way that Hisahito and Hisayo often did, and the way Minato had before they had left.

Kakashi's expression was priceless. His dark grey eyes widened in surprise and confusion, and he froze with the sudden action.

Minato chuckled, a small smile forming on his face as he helped Kohaku to his feet, placing a hand on his shoulder to steady him when he swayed. "We'll find a place to stop for the night and take a closer look at the pair of you."

Kohaku nodded slightly, following slowly as Minato led the way. He sighed at the stinging pain on the left side of his face, reaching up briefly to see that a lot of the blood had started to dry, and that there was little fresh bleeding now. That much was a relief, at least.

They walked for a while, going slow to accommodate Kohaku and Kakashi's injuries, although Kakashi insisted on going walking ahead of all of them, occasionally glancing back at Kohaku, his gaze still baffled from the strange actions of the fox-faced boy.

Once they had found a relatively safe space in a little hollow surrounded by trees, they stopped to rest and assess the injuries each of them had received.

Thanks to Kohaku's swift actions, Kakashi had minimal injuries aside from two broken ribs, which would have been far worse if Kohaku had not leapt into action when he'd heard him fall.

Kohaku, on the other hand, would likely have a scar on the left side of his face for the rest of his life. He also had a minor concussion and had lost quite a bit of blood, but only shook his head when Rin asked if it hurt.

It was a lie, of course. It was agony, but Kohaku was not willing to show weakness, no matter how much he longed to curl up in the fetal position until the pain vanished. It was a little lonely, not being able to admit he was in pain, but he had learned that showing that kind of weakness made things worse.

After that mission, Kohaku and Kakashi struck up a strange sort of companionship that didn't require a single spoken word from either of them. Oftentimes, they could be found lurking around the nearest bookstore, or sitting in different branches of the same tree in comfortable silence.

Kakashi didn't ask Kohaku to speak, and Kohaku didn't intrude on Kakashi's personal business. It was a strange friendship that looked strange to most people, but made seemed to make sense to those who knew each of them.

It was peaceful.


	5. Chapter 5

The next two years passed in a blur for Kohaku. He trained his skills religiously and passed the chuunin exams not long after Kakashi did. As his skills grew, so did he. Most had assumed he wouldn't be very tall, judging by how malnourished and small he had always looked. However, he had now grown taller than most of the other kids his age, including the other genin he had gone to the academy with.

Kohaku waited quietly at the village gates, his gaze shifting around him. Everything felt so different now. There were less people out and about, even though it was the busiest time of the day, and the stench of sickness hung in the air, bothering Kohaku's particularly sensitive nose.

Over the last few months, a strange illness had developed in the village, putting even the strongest shinobi in the hospital. The first death had occurred only the week before, and finally a quarantine had been put into place for those affected, though it did not stop the death toll from rising rapidly.

A shinobi had been sent to Suna with a sample of the illness carefully sealed away to be analyzed by one of their talented medical-nin, who had dealt with a very similar illness in years past. They had just received word that she'd developed a cure, but that they would need to handle it carefully, so as not to ruin it.

Kohaku and Kakashi were being sent to retrieve it as soon as they possibly could. Many of their shinobi had been struck ill, and so they were pinning their hopes on the two chuunin.

There were whispers of it being poison or an illness that had been intentionally introduced to the village. It was just barely a strange enough occurrence to warrant suspicion, especially since the majority of those affected were shinobi. There was, however, no way to discern the real cause, since it had come on so quickly.

Kakashi arrived not long after Kohaku had, prepared and ready for the journey they would be making. Because of the urgency of the mission, both Kohaku and Kakashi had come to the conclusion that they couldn't stop to rest, lest someone else die while they did so. Every second counted, and they could not spare a single one.

The journey to Suna was relatively uneventful, though they did have to make a small detour to avoid a bear's den.

They received the medicine from a medical-nin, who went by the name Chiyo, and immediately went on their way back home, Kakashi carrying the precious medicine.

Kohaku and Kakashi ran into trouble the moment they crossed the border back into the land of fire. They didn't notice the lack of birdsong and rustling of small animals until it was almost too late.

They skidded to a stop just a moment before hitting a tripwire, and leapt backwards. It wasn't something that had been lazily set, and it certainly hadn't been there when they had traveled the opposite direction. Whoever had set it knew that they were going to be returning the same way they had come, which meant that they had been followed.

It was a rather concerning thought that popped into Kohaku's mind, and he glanced at Kakashi to see if he had the same suspicion. When Kakashi nodded, he frowned just faintly, trying immediately to sense the presence of their enemy's chakra.

He tilted his head to the left to signal to Kakashi that that was the direction the chakra signature was originating from. For whatever reason, the chakra signature felt familiar, though he could not put his finger on why that was. No matter how hard he searched for the answer, he couldn't figure it out.

The most he could tell from their enemy's chakra signature was that the nature they specialized in was earth, from the grounded feeling it gave off. He wasn't sure how he had come to be able to tell what nature someone specialized in just by their chakra signature, but he was usually right with his guesses.

If he was right with his guess, they would have the advantage. Earth was weak to lightning, and both Kohaku and Kakashi had an affinity for lightning.

Kohaku gave Kakashi a slight nod, launching himself in the direction that he'd felt the chakra signature. He would take the lead on being the most offensive, since Kakashi was carrying the medicine, which could not be damaged.

The wicked sharp blade of his naginata pierced the throat of the shinobi watching them from the bushes, but it proved to be nothing more than a clone when it puffed into a cloud of acrid smoke at the impact of his blade.

Realizing the mistake he had made, Kohaku quickly flipped himself backwards towards Kakashi, who had just thrown up a kunai to defend against a sudden attack from their mysterious enemy.

"Sorry, kiddies, but I can't let you go with that. I can't let you go at all." The shinobi's voice was deep, but it was impossible to tell who he was, even though he was out in the open now. He was cloaked in a long, dark cloak, hood over his face.

Kohaku had a feeling that something was off, but he could not decipher what it was. He narrowed his mismatched eyes and launched himself towards the shinobi, his blade clashing with the shinobi's black-steel katana.

Statistically, Kohaku had the advantage with his longer range of attack. In ninety five percent of the practice bouts he had with shinobi who specialized in kendo he had been the victor. It was not that he was being overconfident, but instead that he was trying to calculate his odds, and so far they seemed good.

Swift as a hummingbird, Kohaku drove the shinobi backwards with movements so quick that they were nearly impossible to follow. At the moment, all the enemy shinobi could do was defend himself while he was driven backwards.

The enemy shinobi, however, had a few tricks up his sleeve, and he was not afraid to fight dirty. Once they had put in some distance between them and Kakashi, the enemy shinobi flung a pouch of ash into Kohaku's eyes, temporarily blinding him.

Kohaku stumbled back, trying to rub the ash out of his eyes with one hand. Hearing the rapid '_shriiiiing' _of the black-steel katana slicing through the air, he flung his right arm up to defend himself, a gasp of pain escaping his lips as the blade dragged a ragged gash through the weak point in his wrist guard, blood splattering onto the ground.

Blinking his eyes clear of the ash, Kohaku struck back, clenching his slender hand into a fist and shoving it into the shinobi's throat. It was enough to knock the breath out of him, and Kohaku took that moment to turn and flee in the same direction that Kakashi had gone once Kohaku had lent himself as a distraction for him to escape with the medicine.

He caught up with Kakashi after only a few moments, trying to fix his blurry vision, still bothered by the ash that had been thrown at him. Seeing that Kakashi was unharmed, he relaxed just a little.

Their troubles were far from over, however.

Not long after they thought they had shaken the enemy shinobi, he appeared in front of them again, wasting no time in launching a savage attack against them.

Kohaku blocked the attack without hesitation, struggling to push back against the shinobi's massive strength. His eyes narrowed into a deadly glare that he could not quite stop from seeping through his indifferent mask of an expression.

Then suddenly, the shinobi made several hand seals, which Kohaku struggled to follow with his blurry vision. The ground began to crumble beneath their feet, and as Kohaku glanced down, he realized what the shinobi was doing.

He also realized just how outclassed he was. He was not prepared for the shinobi to release such a powerful jutsu, and it was all he and Kakashi could do to leap out of the way of the deep trench he was creating.

Kohaku wasted no time in launching himself at the shinobi once his feet had landed on stable ground, their blades meeting with a resounding '_clang'_ that rang all throughout the trees. He glanced back at Kakashi and gave him a quick nod as he quickly switched his and the enemy shinobi's positions, so that his back was no longer to the trench.

He attacked ferociously, his eyes narrowed as he didn't bother wasting time in defending, instead going for a purely offensive strategy.

How he managed to withstand the blows that the enemy shinobi managed to land, Kohaku didn't know, though in later years he would wonder if it was because if he didn't keep fighting, many innocent lives that he had grown fond of would be lost.

The enemy shinobi suddenly changed targets, going after Kakashi instead of Kohaku.

Time seemed to slow down, and Kohaku's eyes widened when he saw the blade going for Kakashi's escaping back. He immediately launched into action, sliding across the ground and flipping to his feet in front of the enemy shinobi to block the attack before it could hit Kakashi.

Behind him, Kakashi stopped briefly, glancing back to see how close of a miss it had been, and how very lucky he was that Kohaku was so fast.

Nothing seemed to be slowing the enemy shinobi down, and Kohaku could feel himself weakening. It needed to end now, but he could not come up with a solution.

Then it hit him. It would be completely and utterly suicidal, but he could do it. He would almost certainly die, but...even if he did, he wouldn't be disappointed in himself because he would be serving his purpose as a weapon. He had no greater wish than to be a useful weapon, and if he was killed in the process, then he would die happy with his sacrifice.

Kohaku glanced back at Kakashi one last time, the faintest bit of hesitation crossing his mind before he quickly ducked under the enemy shinobi's blade and wrapped his arms around his midsection, shoving him back towards the deep trench that had just formed.

"Go! Run, Hatake-san, run!" Kohaku spoke for the first time in his life, his voice softer than one would expect by looking at his face. He had put practice into hiding the expressions on his face, but he did not have practice keeping his voice indifferent. He couldn't hide his fear any longer.

Kohaku grunted as he shoved the enemy shinobi towards the trench, then leaned back and braced himself against the ground. He gave one final shove against the fighting shinobi and they both went over.

Kohaku got one final glance at the horrified expression on Kakashi's face as they both slipped into the dark abyss beneath the earth.

And then they were gone.


	6. Chapter 6

Kohaku leaned back in his chair, propping his feet up on the worn table in the backroom of the tea shop he ran as a cover to gain intelligence from those that entered through through the northern border.

At twenty, he had been away from Konoha for almost ten years. Aside from a select few high ranking shinobi, the majority of village assumed he was dead, though they hadn't been able to find his body.

He didn't quite mind that almost everyone thought he was dead, as he was able to serve a purpose in this little tea shop. But there was a strange feeling that he had never quite been able to name or describe in words that he had felt since he had been declared dead.

It was coming to an end, however. Someone had discovered that he was a leaf shinobi and not a simple tea shop owner who raised foxes on the side. Naturally, the news had spread, and he had begun to receive fewer customers and less information, which was definitely bad for his job.

Since that was the case, Minato, who had been promoted to Hokage shortly after the last war, had ordered him to return home. He was, however, to wait for another shinobi to arrive to ensure that he made it home in once piece.

Kohaku felt that it was wholly unnecessary to send him an escort, since he had been promoted to jounin over his time away from the village, and was certainly a force to be reckoned with. He was certain that he would be just fine returning on his own, but he had never disobeyed an order, and he certainly wasn't going to start now.

A soft sigh escaped his lips, and he carefully adjusted the mask over his face. He had carved it while recovering from his injuries and had painted it himself to make it look like a fox. Over the years, he had repainted and fixed minor blemishes.

The tinkling of a tiny bell alerted him that someone had just entered the tea shop, and stiffened briefly. If it was someone dangerous, then his summons would let him know.

A few moments later, a small girl came darting in, her large golden fox ears flattened nervously. She was one of his summons, who had volunteered to act as a waitress while he ran the tea shop. Her face was soft and round, making her seem sweet and innocent, which in turn made it so that people never suspected that she was fishing for information.

"Kohaku-sama, there is a shinobi here to see you! He says that he's here to escort you home." The fox-girl informed him, stepping aside to allow the leaf nin into the backroom.

Whoever Kohaku had been expecting, it had certainly not been Hatake Kakashi. Admittedly, he had not even considered that someone as highly regarded as Kakashi would be put on a mission such as this one.

Little about Kakashi had changed, except that in addition to his mask, he also had his headband pulled down to cover his left eye and he now wore the standard outfit that most jounin wore.

Kohaku, on the other hand, had changed so much that he was certain Kakashi wouldn't recognize him, except for, perhaps, the scar that went from just below his left eye to the corner of his mouth.

He had always dressed rather conservatively before he had taken over the tea shop, since he had wanted to be taken seriously and have some practicality to his wardrobe. It had gotten to the point that he no longer cared about practicality when he'd seen some foreign shinobi walk into his tea shop in nothing but their headbands and a fundoshi. In some cases, it had been a truly traumatic experience for him, one that he wished he could unsee.

Now, he had taken to wearing a black sleeveless crop top with a black-steel chestplate over the top of it. Over the top of that he wore a grey sleeveless haori, loosely held together with a black sash. He had bought a well crafted set of shin guards that sat securely over his loose black pants adorned with little foxes in the black steel. His wrist guards were of the same make and material of his shin guards, and one of the few things he took great pride in.

Perhaps the most shocking thing about Kohaku that had changed was his hair. Once it had been short and well-maintained, but now it was down to his knees, wild and untamable, even when tied up with a ribbon the same shade as his sash.

"You must be the one that Yondaime-sama sent me to retrieve." Kakashi's voice and demeanor were both lazy, something that Kohaku had never expected to see. He had heard he had changed, but this was something far more than expected.

Kohaku sat up and nodded, tilting his head to one side, but saying nothing. He hadn't really changed all that much, aside from his appearance. His silence and the barrier he put between himself and the world was the same as ever.

"He never told me your name, though." Kakashi's gaze seemed fixed on Kohaku's pale gold hair, as if something were bothering him.

Kohaku frowned beneath his mask, hesitating for a brief moment before untying the thin black ribbon that held the mask in place. He slipped it off and looked up at Kakashi, studying his expression to confirm his something.

The way Kakashi's one visible eye widened in shock and recognition was enough for Kohaku to realize that no one had ever told Kakashi that he was okay. That, of course, had been the Sandaime's doing.

"Why...did no one ever say anything? How?" Kakashi asked, his one visible eye never leaving Kohaku's face.

Kohaku couldn't answer the first question, because he honestly didn't know why no one had told Kakashi the truth, though he could hazard a guess that it was to keep his cover more secure.

The second question, Kohaku wouldn't answer. It was something that he would never speak of. He could never let someone close enough to trust them with how he had struggled to survive, and the mark it had left on his soul and mind.

Shaking his head, Kohaku stood and retrieved his naginata and metal umbrella from the corner of the room, gesturing for Kakashi to follow him outside. He opened the umbrella, leaning it against his shoulder lazily and shielding himself from the midday sun.

"I know you can talk." Kakashi didn't sound angry, per se, but he did sound bewildered. "Why didn't you come back?"

Kohaku quirked an eyebrow upwards, glancing back at Kakashi curiously. As he studied him, he realized that it had been so long that he could no longer read him, despite the odd companionship they had had as children.

He merely shook his head again, reaching up to tie his mask back into place. A hand grabbed his wrist and stopped him, and Kohaku could tell that Kakashi was frustrated and hurt and confused by his grip. Yet, he still said nothing.

"Keep it off. Everyone else will want to know you're safe." Kakashi sighed, but said nothing more as he pulled his hand away and returned it to its pocket. His expression had returned to the same laziness that it had held when he had first arrived.

Kohaku could feel that something was off with Kakashi. He had never figured out emotions properly, since he had shoved them as far away from himself as he could manage, and as such, he could not tell what emotion was rolling off of Kakashi in waves.

Whatever it was, it was a strong emotion.

* * *

Neither of them said a word on the long journey back, something that didn't quite bother Kohaku. He was used to silence, awkward and comfortable alike.

They took their time making it back, arriving the evening of their second day traveling, and admittedly, Kohaku couldn't but feel a little nervousness as they approached the gates together.

Kakashi stopped suddenly, hands still stuffed in his pockets as he slouched. "I'm sorry for leaving you." He said softly. "I shouldn't have."

Kohaku stopped and tilted his head. He turned around to face him slowly and shook his head, offering a faint smile. He had never once held it against him. It had been his duty to return to Konoha with the medicine that had saved many lives, and Kohaku had willingly sacrificed himself for the mission. How could he possibly be upset that Kakashi had done his job?

After all, the mission was what was most important. Nothing else mattered.

Kohaku waited to see if he would say something more, and then shrugged when he didn't. He waved and continued on his way into the village.

* * *

It was strange being back in the village he had been raised in, and Kohaku couldn't help but feel that maybe he no longer belonged here. Or maybe he never had. Some little part of him wished to return to the tea shop that he had grown to think of as more than just a cover for his mission.

Kohaku slowly made his way towards the Minato's home, his mask back in place over his face. He wondered if perhaps he had upset Kakashi. Something was clearly wrong, but Kohaku had spent so much time forcing his own feelings to the back of his mind that he didn't really know how to identify strong feelings, especially ones that were not his own.

He had built a wall, barbed with indifferent thorns, with the sole intent to keep others out. It was dangerous to trust people, and it was dangerous to let people in. Letting people in meant opening yourself up to pain, and Kohaku had already suffered so much in the early stages of his life, that he was not willing to allow anyone close. Even the shallow bonds of friendship he had made with those he had worked with in his childhood were ones that he was sure he could abandon if it was necessary. It wasn't anything personal; he just needed to protect himself, and keeping others out was the only way to do that.

With a sigh, Kohaku went up to the door. It was late enough now that Minato would have gone home to his wife and child. He didn't want to disturb them, but he did want to get this over with now instead of having to deal with it tomorrow.

All he had to do was check in, and then he could go back to the apartment that he'd lived in as a child, which had likely been untouched for ten years. He was not looking forward to the hours that he would have to spend cleaning.

He only had to wait a few moments before someone finally opened the door, though he didn't see who had opened the door at first, until he looked down.

It was little Naruto, peering up at him with bright blue eyes. "Who're you!" It was less of a question and more of a demand.

"Naruto! What have we told you about opening the door for people you don't know?!" That was surely Kushina. He'd heard the rumors about her fiery personality and quick temper.

Kohaku quickly realized that he would have to say something, otherwise they would find it strange that he was just standing there in silence. He had realized over the years that, unfortunately, his silence was off-putting and had a tendency to creep people out.

As Kushina rounded the corner to drag her son away, she frowned at Kohaku for a fraction of a second before offering him a smile.

Just a moment later, Minato rounded the same corner, his head tilted to the side questioningly. His eyes narrowed just briefly as he tried to figure out just who was at his door. Then he relaxed when he spotted Kohaku's naginata, unchanged after all these years.

Kohaku, for his part, realized that his mask was making it rather difficult for people to recognize him. He reached up and loosened the ribbon holding his mask in place, hanging it around his neck for the moment. He tilted his head in that curious way he always did and studied the family of three.

"Tenko-san." Minato's voice was relieved, and Kohaku realized that this was the first time he had seen him for almost ten years, since before he had sacrificed himself to allow Kakashi to get away.

Minato stepped forward, placing one hand on Kushina's shoulder and the other on Naruto's spiky blonde hair. He could not seem to contain the smile on his face.

Kohaku gave a brief bow, tilting his head the opposite way once he had straightened up. He wasn't sure what to do now, as he had never visited someone at their home before and didn't really know the proper etiquette for situations like this.

"Kushina, Naruto, this is Tenko Kohaku. I've told you about him before." Minato introduced them, gesturing for Kohaku to come inside. "We were just about to sit down for dinner, and you can join us."

With only a moment's hesitation, Kohaku stepped inside, slipping off his shoes respectfully. He was at least trying to be polite, though he didn't know much about how to interact with people or about what proper behavior was and what wasn't.

He glanced around curiously, studying the pictures on the wall, many of which were of the three of them as a family, though there were some that were of Team Minato as well. And at the very far end, as Minato led them back into the kitchen, he noticed a single picture of Team Minato, that also included him.

Kohaku stopped still, staring at the photograph, head tilted to the side. A strange feeling rose up inside him, leaving him hollow and empty. Two of those faces were gone now, and he hadn't even had the opportunity to say goodbye.

Turning, Kohaku followed them the rest of the way into the kitchen, still looking around. He hardly noticed the tugging on his sash until it came undone, and then he turned his attention to the culprit.

It was Naruto, staring up at him with those mischievous blue eyes of his. "Did you really fight off a thousand shinobi and survive?!" He asked in his quietest version of a whisper, which was really just a normal volume.

Kohaku tilted his head to the side, unsure of how to respond. He wasn't sure he had fought a thousand shinobi all together, let alone in one battle. Where had he heard this strange rumor. With a soft sigh, he glanced up at Minato and Kushina for answer as he tied his sash back in place.

"Sorry, I'm sure he heard that at the academy. There's a lot of weird things being spread lately." Kushina apologized with a smile, patting Naruto's head affectionately. "I don't know who told you that, but it's not true. Is it?" She glanced up at Kohaku, raising an eyebrow.

A faint smile crossing his face, Kohaku shook his head slowly. He tilted his head again, studying Naruto closely, fascinated by the little whisker marks on his cheeks. He supposed it was a mark of the Kyuubi.

Naruto began to pout, sticking his tongue halfway out and wearing the expression of someone who had just had his daydreams crushed.

Kohaku glanced up when Minato spoke up again, frowning just slightly at his words, unable to completely believe what he said.

"Welcome home. We're all glad you're safe."


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter Seven

Kohaku spent the next several days cleaning his apartment, wishing he hadn't left it unattended for so many years. He was fairly certain that if he had left it any longer, there would be no reclaiming it from the dust and grime.

Once his apartment was finally clean, he was able to relax just a little. Empty as it was, it was still a place of his own, and thus a place of safety. He was able to let down his guard just a little here, and it was a nice change of pace for the moment.

After reporting, he'd been assigned six weeks of rest before he would be put back on active duty. Though Minato hadn't explained his reasoning, Kohaku had a feeling that it had been assigned so that he could re-adapt to life in the village after nearly ten years of acting as a spy.

Admittedly, Kohaku could see the reasoning behind it, if that really was the case. He'd spent so many years suspecting everyone of something that it was rather difficult to look at someone and not see them as a potential threat. It was no way to live.

Kohaku shut his door with a quiet click, taking care to lock it before heading to the stairs that led down to the first floor apartments. He stopped briefly to stow away his keys, frowning when he felt someone's gaze on him. Glancing up, he caught sight of Kakashi and tilted his head in greeting.

Then he continued on his way down the stairs, and picked a random direction. He had no particular destination, but he needed fresh air. It was dark enough now, with the sun setting, that he didn't need to worry about the light hurting his eyes.

It was peaceful in the village. A different sort of peaceful than the tea shop he was used to, but peaceful all the same.

Perhaps it would be good for him to take advantage of the rest period he had been given, though he had a feeling he would be bored before long. He would enjoy it while he was able to, at least. Sooner or later, he would be sent back or put on another mission, and the sweet illusion of peace would be shattered into a million pieces once more.

"Is that…?" A strangely familiar voice asked from his left, and another, eerily similar voice spoke soon after.

"I'm not sure. I heard rumors, but...I didn't think they could be true."

Kohaku turned, glancing at the two shinobi who were staring at him. A faint smile crossed his face, more real than any of the other smiles he had pasted on his face in a long, long time.

Standing outside the Yamanaka flower shop were a set of twins that he knew very well. They'd hardly changed over the years, and for that, Kohaku was glad.

"Tenko! The rumors were true, then!" Hisayo laughed, following her brother over to their former student. "Glad to see you're alive. Always knew you were too stubborn to just die like that."

"Hisayo! Can you have a little tact?" Hisahito gave a great sigh, reaching up and ruffling Kohaku's hair. "Have to admit; I never thought you'd end up taller than us."

Kohaku tilted his head and reached out to ruffle Hisahito's hair in return, but said nothing.

"Still the strong, silent type, eh?" Hisayo offered a toothy grin and wrapped her arm around Kohaku's. "Come on, let's go get a drink and you can tell us what you've been up to for the last several years."

Hisahito laughed, linking arms with Kohaku as well. "I think you and I will be the only ones talking, Hisayo. But that's alright. We're just glad you're safe."

The trio went on their way to a little bar, the twins chattering all the while. They'd never been this chatty before, but Kohaku had a feeling it was due to his return, and he couldn't help but feel glad that they were happy.

Once they were inside, Hisayo and Hisahito led Kohaku over to a corner table, sitting him down. They were determined to catch him up on what he had missed over the years.

As they spoke, Kohaku learned that Genma had promoted, which was no surprise to Kohaku, though he did wonder if he still carried that senbon in his mouth. They told him about Ichika, who, to no one's surprise, defected shortly after Kohaku's supposed death. She hadn't yet been caught and brought in, but she wasn't talented in much. It didn't warrant much thought, as she had never been a real threat.

For a while, they chatted about nonsense, catching Kohaku up on the important news and gossip that was going around the village.

Perhaps the most surprising news of all, was that Hisahito had recently taken on a new role. A position at the academy had recently opened up, and he had decided to take it, tired of the long, hard missions they'd been saddled with recently.

Kohaku remembered the kindness that Hisahito had always shown him and decided that he would do well in his new position of teaching the next generation. And he was even more certain that the children at the academy would never be safer than with Hisahito to watch over them.

By the end of the night, both Hisahito and Hisayo were drunker than skunks. Kohaku helped them both home, practically dragging them through the streets behind him, and made sure they safely made it into their separate apartments before he went on his way again.

Now, without a destination again, Kohaku began to wander the streets, wondering if anyone else had missed him. If they didn't then that was alright. He was used to being brushed aside and forgotten.

Kohaku eventually found himself at the memorial stone, drawn by something he couldn't decipher. It wasn't the first time he had been there. Hisahito and Hisayo had shown him as well as Genma and Ichika the stone, explaining what it was for.

Silently, he studied the black stone, looking for his own name so that he could scratch it out. He hadn't done anything remarkable, and he certainly wasn't dead. His name didn't belong on the stone.

"I scratched it out already." Kakashi's voice was soft, but lacked any real emotion. "I did it the night we got back."

Kohaku turned to face Kakashi, tilting his head. He hadn't heard or sensed him approach, which struck him as particularly odd. He supposed he had learned well from Minato over the years.

After a moment's hesitation, Kohaku sighed. "Thank you." His voice was soft, hoarse from disuse. While every move he made was made with purpose, lacking even the tiniest bit of hesitation, his voice was different.

Even now, Kohaku didn't feel comfortable speaking, unable to keep up his wall of thorns in the same way he always did. It showed a vulnerability that he did not wish others to see, and he was helpless to stop it. He had chosen the path of silence because it was safe, and he wanted nothing more than to continue to keep himself safe with that very silence, and yet, here he was speaking for the second time in his life to Kakashi.

Kakashi stared at Kohaku for a moment, hands stuffed in his pockets. Then he smiled beneath his mask. He couldn't help but find it a relief that Kohaku hadn't changed much in personality. He was just the same as he had always been, from what he could see.

Kohaku tilted his head slightly as Kakashi watched him quietly. He couldn't help but wonder what was going through his mind.

At first, he hadn't thought that Kakashi had changed at all, but now...he saw that even the way Kakashi stood was different. It wasn't bad, Kohaku thought, but it was _different,_ and he supposed he would have to get to know him all over again.

"Did it hurt?" Kakashi asked after a moment, his voice low. His gaze had settled on Kohaku's right arm, on the jagged scar that went from his wrist to his elbow; the one he had received protecting Kakashi and the medicine all those years ago.

Kohaku tilted his head briefly in the opposite direction, and then lied the same way he had lied to Rin all those years ago. He shook his head and offered Kakashi a faint smile.

A soft sigh escaped Kakashi's lips, and he seemed to realize that Kohaku was lying. "How...how did you survive?" The trench that he had thrown himself into with the enemy shinobi had been too deep for anyone to even consider going down to look for Kohaku's body.

Immediately, Kohaku stiffened, his smile disappearing in an instant. He rapidly shook his head and turned away. He would not talk about it.

Every time he pushed the thoughts and memories out of his mind, they found some way to creep back in. Even now, the chill that ran up his spine made him want to flee and disappear into the woods outside the village just to escape the memories that clung to him like burrs.

Every time he closed his eyes for more than a second, the memories rose up to greet him. Flashes of gleaming teeth in the faint light that trickled into the trench floated behind his eyes, accompanied by the overwhelming stench of death and decay.

Kohaku heard Kakashi say something, but could not decipher it with the ringing in his ears that drowned out every other sound. All it took was Kakashi putting his hand on his shoulder to make Kohaku snap.

He flinched back and immediately bolted, disappearing so fast that not even Kakashi could catch a glimpse of which direction he had gone. With overwhelming shame, he fled from the imaginary ghosts that dogged his every step, his blank and empty facade cracking and crumbling to dust.

When the fear and vivid memories began to subside, he found himself halfway across the village, on some poor soul's roof. He sat himself down and pulled his knees to his chest, cursing himself for his weakness. He had promised himself that he would forge himself into an infallible weapon, and yet here he was, letting his fear get to him. He was ashamed of himself. No matter how far down he buried his feelings, he couldn't always keep them in check.

Kohaku was jolted out of his thoughts and turned his attention to small, golden fox that had poofed into existence with a puff of smoke. He tilted his head and frowned. His summons only visited when he called them or when they had urgent information to pass along.

"Tenko-sama! I have urgent news!" The fox squealed, her tail thrashing nervously, while her ears remained flattened. She was the round-faced summon that used a human form to work as a waitress in the tea shop.

She didn't wait for Kohaku to respond before continuing hurriedly, beginning to pace around on the roof. Her teeth chattered with anxiety, stopping only when Kohaku patted her head.

"I think there's some sort of plot that's being set into motion! Involving the village and the Hokage!"

* * *

A/N: Thanks for reading and the kind review! I really appreciate your feedback!

rainwalker12: I'm glad you liked that concept! One of your questions will be answered soon, within in the next few chapters! Thank you for reading!


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter Eight

Kohaku leaned against training grounds fence, waiting patiently for the others to arrive. As always, he had arrived earlier than everyone else.

Since he had been away for so long, Minato had requested an assessment of his skills, even though he'd already been unofficially promoted to jounin. It was more of a formality than an actual assessment, as he had already proven his skills with the work and information he had provided over the years.

Letting out a sigh, Kohaku went over all the information his summon had given him when she'd appeared a few nights before. It wasn't much to go on, and there wasn't anything they could prove. Of course, Kohaku had delivered the information to Minato immediately, giving him everything he knew before sending his summon back with orders to keep watch on everyone who came through.

What concerned him was that he had not heard from her since. It was not unusual for them to not speak for days at a time, but when there was a potentially lethal threat, she kept him updated nearly hourly. So far, he had heard nothing from her since that night.

"Early, I see." Minato said with a smile as he approached, followed by Sarutobi Asuma and Yuhi Kurenai.

Kohaku gave a slight nod, and then shifted his gaze towards Asuma and Kurenai, head tilted as he watched them approach. He gave them both a respectful nod and then returned his attention to Minato. By now, everyone had heard of his return, so there was no surprise on their faces when they saw his face for the first time in years.

"This is more of a formality than anything. But I don't want you to hold back, alright?" Minato lead them into the training grounds, gesturing for Kurenai to stay back with him while Asuma and Kohaku went farther out, far enough that any of their attacks could not reach the other two.

Kohaku shifted himself into the middle position, his naginata extended in front of him. He was well aware of why Minato had chosen Asuma as his opponent. His affinity for lightning was weak against Asuma's affinity for wind, which would undoubtedly make up for his lack of reach.

It wouldn't matter anyway. So far, no one had bested Kohaku's speed, and he was confident that even if he somehow lost his naginata in the fight, he would still be able to win with the few tricks he had up his nonexistent sleeves.

Unfortunately, they didn't even have the chance to begin their sparring match when all hell broke loose.

An acrid scent hit Kohaku's nose, and it was barely enough warning for him to leap out of the way of a foul-smelling oil. It landed right where he'd been just a moment before, instantly catching fire.

Another one was sent Asuma's way, but he was able to leap out of the way more quickly than Kohaku had, having already seen the first glob of oil hit.

Kohaku straightened up and turned his attention towards where the oil had been launched from. He narrowed his mismatched eyes and darted into the trees, gone faster than anyone could catch which direction he had gone in.

He remembered the information his summon had given him and frowned. This was most likely a ploy to get Minato alone, so that he would be easier to take down. As if that were even possible, Kohaku thought with a snort.

Even knowing how powerful Minato was, Kohaku had left first to find the threat, on the off chance that their attackers _were_ actually trying to trap Minato. It was his duty, not only as a shinobi of the leaf, but also as the weapon he had forged himself into.

Smoke began to fill the air around him as he made his way deeper into the trees, and the acrid scent burned his throat and lungs. He could already see the orange flames licking at nearby trees, and he realized that he must now be close to the source.

It hadn't been burning for very long yet, and Kohaku briefly thought this was too easy. The flames were like a beacon to draw in those concerned enough to see what was going on. It was most certainly a trap of some sort, but he could not yet determine who or _what_ the trap was for.

Kohaku quickly discovered who was responsible for the growing fire, and couldn't help the scowl that twisted his face.

Standing in the center of the flames, looking far more intense than she had ever before, was Akagi Ichika, the hideous orange pigtails she had worn as a child replaced by a single bun that sat messily atop her head. Her golden, hawk-like eyes stared him down and her thin lips curved into a particularly shifty smile.

"Well, if it isn't the little runt, Tenko!" Her voice, however, had not changed in the slightest. High and nasally, it grated painfully on his ears, and Kohaku could not help but wonder how she had never once learned to control how loudly she spoke.

Kohaku didn't respond, instead stepping over the flames and into the cleared circle of ground that remained untouched. He tilted his head and stared at her as one stared at a particularly annoying fly.

"You're the one who's been passing information back to that shithole of a village, aren't you?" Ichika looked particularly savage in the flickering orange light of the flames. "Don't know how you've been managing it, seeing as how you never even learned how to speak."

"I can speak." Kohaku said finally, a faint smile crossing his face when he realized that he had caught her off guard. "I just choose not to speak to idiots who aren't worth my time. You were never worth mine."

Perhaps it was a particularly cruel thing to say, even if it wasn't the real reason he didn't speak, but it provoked the reaction he wanted from her.

Ichika let out a snarl that was reminiscent of an enraged bear, and launched herself at Kohaku, slipping a single kunai from the pouch on her belt into her finely manicured hand.

Kohaku briefly wondered how she had the time for a manicure when she was wanted for abandoning her village and turning on her own people when they tried to stop her. It was a baffling thought to him, and he realized that, as before, he would never really understand Ichika's thought process.

The missing nin wasn't able to get very close to him before he was able to block her blow. There was very little force behind her hit, and Kohaku realized that she was just as weak as before. She hadn't improved her physical strength in the slightest.

But there was something off. There was a niggling in the pit of his stomach that warned him not to underestimate his former teammate, and experience had told him to never ignore that feeling.

Kohaku leapt back and shifted into the lower position, naginata aimed towards the ground. He tilted his head as Ichika came for him again, blocking each of her strikes with ease. It was strange how her strikes were so clumsy and he could not help but wonder what her real goal was.

Ichika's kunai clanked against the shaft of his naginata over and over again, never getting close enough to actually hit him. But her movements never grew into a frenzy, and she never seemed to wear down.

He didn't notice it until too late, when one of her strikes landed particularly close to his hand, she reached over with a single finger and tapped his wrist.

She leapt back quickly, a blue thread of chakra spooling after her and connecting their hands despite the distance. A wicked smirk crossed her face.

"Good luck using that with a broken wrist!" Ichika shouted gleefully, jerking her hand sharply to one side.

There was a resounding snap as Kohaku's wrist bent at an impossible angle. But he hardly reacted to the pain that radiated up his arm, instead calmly strapping his naginata to his back with his one hand.

Then Kohaku jerked his arm back, pulling the chakra thread tight. He tilted his head slightly, testing the strength of the thread while Ichika struggled to piece together how he was so calm when she had already connected one thread to him. The more she connected, the more control that she would have over him.

Kohaku jerked his arm back again, dragging her closer to him. He forced himself to completely ignore the pain that was building in his arm with every which way she forced his broken wrist to twist.

Seeming to realize that breaking his wrist and twisting it to cause maximum pain was doing nothing to him, Ichika changed tactics. Instead of trying to resist his dragging, she leapt forward, soaring into the air.

With lightning speed, Kohaku had his steel umbrella out, opening it to its full size and shoving it against Ichika's stomach so hard that she went flying into a tree several feet away. He tilted his head and watched Ichika with little interest.

Just then, others joined them within the circle of flames. It was Minato, accompanied by Asuma and Kurenai.

Kohaku turned his attention to them and frowned, but did not question it. Instead, he closed his umbrella and put it away, retrieving a kunai and, channeling his own chakra into, slashed through Ichika's chakra thread.

By all appearances, Ichika appeared unconscious and weaponless, having been easily outmatched and outsmarted by Kohaku. She remained still and lifeless, like a ragdoll.

But as Minato approached her, she sprung into action again, using her left hand to grab ahold of her right hand. She yanked it hard, and everyone seemed startled when her entire arm came off, revealing a cleverly disguised blade, long enough and jagged enough to do devastating damage. She rammed it towards Minato's chest, baring her teeth in a vicious snarl.

Kohaku was faster. He smoothly leapt in between them, gripping the jagged blade with his good hand and stopping it before it even got close to them.

Blood began to drip onto the ground, and Kohaku stared at Ichika with an expression that could inspire fear in the most hardened of hearts.

And then it was over. Ichika relaxed all the tension in her body, then yanked the blade back from Kohaku's arm. She made a single hand seal with her remaining hand and disappeared in a cloud of white smoke.

Kohaku turned to Minato and tilted his head. "I think we should leave before the flames get worse." He said softly, deadpan expression on his face.

The other three, though startled by Kohaku's sudden words, seemed to agree, and they all made their way out of the flaming trees, leaving it to the shinobi that had an affinity for water nature to put out the spreading flames.

Halfway to the hospital, Kurenai and Asuma veered off down another street. Kohaku assumed that Asuma needed to prepare to return to the rest of the Twelve Guardians; he'd only been able to come back for a short visit this time.

After they left, Minato glanced at Kohaku, a faint frown on his face. "I didn't know you could speak."

Kohaku waved his bloody hand dismissively, and shook his head. He had spoken entirely too much today, and he was ready to remain silent for another decade. He glanced at Minato and offered him a faint smile though, not wanting him to think that he was trying to be rude intentionally.

Thankfully, Minato didn't push the issue, merely escorting him the rest of the way to the hospital. His expression was clouded, and Kohaku could tell he had a lot on his mind.

The pair of them went into the hospital, a heavy silence hanging over them. A medic nin brought Kohaku into an empty room, taking care of his injuries quicker than normal. Even so, their work was exemplary, and his bleeding hand was bandaged securely first.

His wrist was much more difficult to deal with, unfortunately, though that didn't stop the medic nin from performing a small miracle and managing to get each of the shattered pieces of his wrist back into proper order. The medic nin then splinted his wrist tightly enough to keep it in place and then wrapped a brace around it and giving him a sling to put his arm in.

"Rest for at least a week, and then return to see how it's healed and if we'll have to break the bone again to set it properly." The medic nin looked exhausted, but Kohaku knew that he had done his job properly since the pain had drastically decreased already.

Kohaku gave a slight nod and left the room, frowning when he spotted a few smoke-covered genin coughing painfully while they waited for their turn; likely having been in the training fields when the fires were set. Many of them had clearly just been promoted, judging by their size and the nervousness in their expressions. They had clearly never been in a situation such as this, and he couldn't help but empathize with them. It was a frightening situation.

Turning his attention away from the genin, he made his way back to Minato, who was watching the victims of Ichika's fires with a sad expression on his face.

With a soft sigh, Kohaku nudged him gently. It wouldn't do to dwell here when the medic nins had their hands full with patients. He said nothing as he led Minato out, a frown on his face as the Hokage only followed with reluctance.

Minato soon left Kohaku alone to go check on the progress of the taming of the overwhelming fire that had been started, but made him promise to stay put until he sent someone to watch over him for the duration of his week of rest.

Kohaku sat down on a bench and watched civilians pass by, unusually tense. There were a lot of things concerning him, the most concerning piece being that his summon's information had seemed to be true, and the second one being that his summon wasn't checking in the way she should be.

There was something else bothering him as well, though he wasn't sure what exactly it was. There was just an uneasy feeling in the pit of his stomach, as if he were missing something so very obvious that it was staring him right in the face. Whatever it was, it had to be the key to whatever was happening.

"Yo."

A familiar voice jolted Kohaku out of his thoughts, and he looked up curiously at Kakashi, wondering why he was here and not helping out with putting out the fire. Instead of voicing this, he just tilted his head to the side questioningly.

"Minato-sensei sent me along to look after you. He figured it would be difficult for you to do much with both of your hands injured." Kakashi answered his unspoken question casually. He didn't mention the way Kohaku had fled the other night, or even show any sign that it had happened at all, for which Kohaku was grateful for.

Kohaku gave a brief nod and stood up carefully, tilting his head to the side, waiting for Kakashi to take the lead. He was fine just following him, and they both lived in the same apartment complex anyway.

Kakashi began to walk down the street, glancing back every so often to make sure Kohaku was still following, though there seemed to be something else in his gaze as well. However, Kohaku was no good at reading expressions, so he could not decipher whatever it was that was hidden within the depths of Kakashi's eye. But...for some reason, it made him so sad to see it.

Before he could stop himself, he reached up and patted Kakashi's head, ruffling his spiky hair in a way that he hoped would be reassuring. Whenever anyone had patted his head like that, Kohaku had felt more comfortable, and sometimes more safe, and as if someone actually liked him. It had made him feel as if everything would be alright in the end.

Kakashi stopped suddenly and turned to look at Kohaku, his one visible eye widened. He stared at him for a moment before clearing his throat.

"What was that?" He asked slowly, not quite sure what was happening, though he did recall Kohaku doing this once before, before he had gone missing. He had initially thought that he was just mimicking the things that other people did, but now...he wasn't so sure.

Kohaku shook his head, merely giving him a faint smile. Then he continued on his way towards their apartments, glancing back at him to make sure he was following.

"You really are more than you appear to be." Kakashi chuckled, shaking his head. "But I think I already knew that you aren't what people seem to think you are." His voice grew softer, and if Kohaku hadn't had enhanced hearing, he wouldn't have heard his words at all.

Pretending to have not heard his words at all, Kohaku couldn't help but smile a little more genuinely.


	9. Chapter 9

_Ba-dump._

_Ba-dump._

_Ba-dump._

_Kohaku heard nothing but the pounding of his own heart, and his own quick, ragged breaths. He saw nothing in the pitch-blackness of the cavern he had ended up in. He was safe, for now._

_He slid down against the wall, leaning his head back and shutting his eyes. It was the same darkness either way. With a quiet sigh, he pulled his throbbing arm closer to his chest, wishing for the pain to stop._

_As his racing heart quieted, he opened his eyes and listened to the sounds around him, trying to find something to keep him sane in this dark, maddening place._

_Kohaku could not tell how long he'd been wandering in the darkness, or what time of day it was. He hadn't seen the light peeking through the cracks of the cavern ceiling in so long that he wasn't even certain he could remember what it was like to walk in the warmth of the sun._

_He stiffened, head jerking up rapidly as he heard the soft clicking of claws on the cold, rocky surface. Silently, he rose to his feet and began to back away slowly. Fear clawed at his chest, and he bit his lip to keep from crying out._

_Whatever was down here was hunting him, and no matter how far he ran, he could never truly escape its relentless pursuit._

_As Kohaku backed away slowly, keeping one hand on the wall to make sure he wouldn't run into it when the beast, whatever it was, attacked._

_As always, the beast knew exactly where he was. It was as if it were honed in on him, hunting him specifically, but he could not fathom why._

_Perhaps he was the only prey down here and it was merely trying to survive, planning to use him as a source of food to keep it alive for a day longer. Or perhaps there was a more sinister reason for it._

_Whatever the case was, it wanted him dead, and there was little he could do to stop it from killing him, except to run and hope he could one day find a way out of this dark cave of madness._

_Kohaku fled the moment he heard the beast tense and crouch, ready to strike. This time, he was faster, and he sprinted down the cave, heart thumping against his ribcage as if it were trying desperately to escape._

_A twinkle of light flickered ahead of him, and Kohaku could hardly believe his eyes. He couldn't tell if it were real or not. His mind had been playing tricks on him and it was so difficult to decipher what was real and what was not._

_It was real. A thin sliver of light shone down into the cavern, and Kohaku could not help but glance back to see his pursuer._

_A sharp glint of light flashed from glistening white fangs, blinding Kohaku as he threw up his arm to protect his face._

Kohaku woke with a start, sitting up quickly and looking around. His breath came in rapid gasps, and his heart felt as if it were going to burst through his chest.

A quick glance around his room told him that he was safe in his apartment, and that he was alone. A great relief to him, if there ever was one, and only once he had that realization, did he begin to relax.

Nightmares such as that one were not unusual. He'd had them ever since he had escaped the caves, and nothing had really helped, though leaving a light on had made it easier to get to sleep. He didn't like the dark.

There was something wrong. He could smell it.

Kohaku slipped out from under his covers, grabbing his naginata. He glanced around and slowly left his room, the scent of death and decay assaulting his nose the moment he opened the door.

Mismatched eyes narrowed, Kohaku followed the scent of death to the kitchen, freezing the moment he stepped into the kitchen.

Blood had been splattered across the walls, across the cabinets, and every inch of the floor. Dozens of dead rats hung from the ceiling by their tails, some of them dripping blood onto the floor, while others were hardly more than skeletons with pieces of muscle still barely attached.

His gaze shifted towards the empty wall, taking note of the message that had been written in the rats' blood. He couldn't help but shiver at the message, a chill creeping into the pit of his stomach.

'_Rats die, and so will you.'_

Normally, Kohaku was fine handling dangerous situations on his own, but he realized that this was something he should probably get help for. It seemed like something far different than a shinobi holding some sort of vendetta.

Kohaku quietly left the kitchen and went to the front door, leaving quickly. He paused once he was out in the chilly air, clearing his nose of the bloody scent. Then he turned and slowly walked over to Kakashi's apartment. He knocked on the door firmly and waited, glancing around every so often.

After several minutes, Kakashi finally opened the door, looking rather irked that he had been woken in the middle of the night. His hair was the same as usual, and he was still wearing his mask, but his headband was missing, and Kohaku's eyes were drawn to the scar that went over his closed eye.

"I have a small problem." Kohaku said reluctantly, figuring that speaking would make Kakashi more likely to help, since everyone else seemed shocked when he spoke.

"What's wrong?" Kakashi asked, seeming to realize that Kohaku was in trouble. He sighed when Kohaku didn't respond, instead following him over to Kohaku's apartment, stiffening when he caught the scent of death.

Kohaku led him into the kitchen and stood to the side so that Kakashi could see. "I found this." He said quietly, not elaborating on how he found it or who had done it.

"...they got in without you waking up?" Kakashi asked, frowning when Kohaku nodded. That meant that whoever had snuck in was extremely skilled, and the fact that they'd left a message instead of killing Kohaku when they had the chance was concerning. It was meant to instill terror.

Kohaku sighed and stepped into the kitchen, doing his best to avoid the rat blood on the floor. He felt much more at ease now that Kakashi was here, though he wasn't certain why. Perhaps he was still rattled from his nightmare.

Unable to stand the smell anymore, he pinched his nose with his good hand, instead breathing through his mouth. He scanned the kitchen, looking for anything he had missed the first time.

There was nothing that he could see, except for the blood. But there was something off. He could feel it, more than see or hear or smell it.

Kohaku stopped and shut his eyes, taking a deep breath. He silenced his restless mind and _felt_ everything around him falling into place in his mind's eye. He could hear the neighbor snoring from the next apartment over, and he narrowed his focus to the kitchen area, cutting out every unnecessary noise and sensation around him as he tried to figure out what was out of place.

Then he caught it; a faint trace of chakra. It wasn't enough for him to identify its owner, except to tell him that it was someone he did not know personally. There was, however, something about this chakra that sent a shiver down his spine, piercing his heart with a cold fear.

He opened his eyes after a moment and continued looking around, making sure he hadn't missed anything. A soft sigh escaped his lips and he turned back to Kakashi, carefully stepping around the blood.

"I don't think you should stay here until we find out who's responsible." Kakashi said finally, his gaze settling on Kohaku's carefully blank expression. He saw the tension in the way he stood, and the way his blank expression was just a little too forced.

Kohaku gave a tiny nod and stepped out of the kitchen, wondering where he would stay now. He almost felt as if he had been set adrift, since he could not even stay in his own home anymore. It was a very familiar feeling, but one he wished he didn't have to feel again.

It was the same feeling he'd had when he realized that no one would adopt him, and the feeling he'd had when he realized that he didn't, and would never truly matter to someone. It was a sense of helplessness that he didn't like; a weakness that he hadn't quite been able to eradicate from himself.

A soft sigh escaped Kohaku's lips and he slowly returned to his room to pack a bag and grab his steel umbrella. He didn't have a lot of belongings, so it didn't take long for him to get his things together.

Kohaku went back out to Kakashi, carrying his things awkwardly with his one usable hand. He didn't speak a word of the pain that lanced through his hand as he carried his things, remaining as impassive as ever, if rather stiff.

"Come on." Kakashi said softly, reaching up and patting Kohaku's head, ruffling his untidy hair. Then he took the bag and his umbrella from his hand, watching him for a moment.

Then he followed Kohaku out the door, placing a hand on his shoulder to stop him when he went for the stairs.

Kohaku stopped and faced Kakashi, tilting his head ever so slightly, his eyebrows furrowing in the tiniest amount of confusion.

Kakashi placed a hand on his back and gently guided him towards his own apartment. "It's too late to go looking for somewhere else for you to stay right now." He frowned when he saw Kohaku's blank mask crack for a fraction of a second, the tiniest glimpse of fear and loneliness flashing in his eyes before it disappeared behind his mask again. "Are you alright?"

Glancing at Kakashi as he went into his apartment, he nodded slightly. He hesitated for a brief moment, unused to wanting to speak. He had spent so long in silence, that he wasn't sure if it was alright for him to speak after so long. Not to mention the fact that speaking made him feel vulnerable.

"Thank you." His voice was soft, hardly more than a whisper.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter Ten

The next several weeks passed by in a blur. There had so far been no secondary attempt on Minato's life, or any follow-up to the threat the Kohaku received. So far, everything was peaceful.

Kohaku made his way up to Minato's office for his first mission since returning home. His hand and wrist had fully recovered, thankfully, and he could not help but feel glad that he could finally stretch his legs with something more than just taking long walks through the village, or occasionally acting as Hisahito's sparring partner for the academy classes he was teaching.

After a few knocks at the door, Kohaku went into Minato's office, tilting his head curiously to listen to Minato.

"Tenko-san, welcome." Minato said warmly, offering him a smile. "I see you've recovered well. I'm glad."

Kohaku nodded slightly, offering him a faint smile. Then he tilted his head to the left, waiting for him to continue.

"I've called you here today for a rather...sensitive mission. It's not particularly urgent, but it is something that I think only you can handle." Minato began, his expression growing more serious. "Have you heard of the Kanemaru Clan?"

Kohaku shook his head and waited for him to continue, studying him closely.

"The Kanemaru Clan is a very reclusive clan that lives within our borders. They're a shinobi clan, but also a clan that specializes in creating extremely resilient weapons. They have a few other odd skills, that they have refused to disclose, as well." Minato paused briefly and let out a sigh. "While it's not unusual to go two or three years without hearing from them, we have not been able to get into contact with them for twenty years."

Minato paused again, passing Kohaku a map marked with the Kanemaru Clan's compound location.

"I want you to go and see what's been going on. Find out why they haven't responded to our letters. I'll be sending Kakashi with you." Minato finished, leaning back in his chair and studying Kohaku's reaction.

Without a single word, Kohaku nodded and turned to leave. He was already prepared, having been hoping his mission would involve traveling. He'd grown restless.

"Tenko-san, please be careful. The Kanemaru have a tendency to attack first and ask questions later when it comes to intruders on their territory, which is why we respect their space as much as we do. They have proven to be invaluable allies to us in the past, and we don't want to upset them if we can help it." Minato warned, letting out a brief sigh of relief when Kohaku nodded his assent.

Kohaku waved to him and left through the window, making his way through the village along the rooftops to the village gates. He leapt off the last roof and landed neatly on the ground next to Kakashi, who had already been briefed.

"Ready?" Kakashi asked.

Kohaku gave a brief nod, and they were off.

* * *

It took them three days to reach the Kanemaru compound, which rested near Ame's border, hidden within a dense swath of trees and foliage.

Surrounding the compound was a high fence, built from dark wood and topped with six inch steel spikes at the top. The clan symbol was painted in gold and silver all across the fence, formed of three triangles, the largest one pointed downwards, while the two smaller ones sat side by side, pointing upwards from on top of the larger one. Three lines spread out from the lowest point of the triangle on either side, resembling whiskers.

Kohaku made his way towards the front gate, which appeared to be shut tight with some sort of seal. He stopped in front of the gate, frowning a little. The Kanemaru Clan were either paranoid or just took great care in their security. After a moment, he knocked loudly, waiting for some sort of response.

"There's something wrong." Kohaku said finally, when he realized that Kakashi could not, in fact, read his mind. "It feels…" he paused, grasping for the right word before continuing, "empty."

"I agree. It's too quiet. I haven't heard any animals for quite some time." Kakashi agreed, glancing around. "I don't think we can get through by force. Any ideas?"

Kohaku nodded slightly, reaching up and touching the seal with one hand to get a feel for the chakra behind it.

For as long as he could remember, Kohaku had always had a knack for dealing with seals, whether it be dispelling them or putting them into place. He'd never put much thought into learning how to develop that skill, however, until he had met his teacher, as he preferred his naginata, after escaping the caves.

As Kohaku studied the seal on the gates, he could not shake the strange feeling he got the moment he had looked at the Kanemaru Clan's symbol.

Kohaku pulled his hand away from the seal after a moment, bringing his thumb to his mouth and biting it just enough for it to bleed. Then he swiped his thumb over the seal, leaving a smear of blood across it.

The gates creaked open slowly as the seal vanished, and Kohaku glanced back with a faint smile. He waited until the gates opened all the way, and then stepped into the compound.

It was like a ghost town. There was no sign of movement, and no lights on in any of the ramshackle businesses that were closest to their entry point. In fact, it looked as if nothing in the compound had been taken care of for quite some time.

It wasn't just that. The moment he had stepped through the gates, he had _felt_ the death shrouding the place. It was saturated in it, as if something unspeakable had occurred in this secluded compound.

Kohaku walked through the compound, stopping to peer into each of the businesses. They were all empty so far. He continued through the business until they reached the housing area.

"Tenko-san." Kakashi said softly, stopping in his tracks. His voice was grave and sad, and when Kohaku glanced over in his direction, he understood why.

Pinned against the inside of the cracked glass by a single, rusted kunai was a corpse. Well, to call it a corpse wouldn't be correct. It was nothing more than a skeleton, held together by the last remaining tendrils of muscle that hadn't yet faded to dust.

Kohaku let out a soft sigh and shook his head. The sight only confirmed his suspicion that the inhabitants of this compound were all dead, and had been since contact with them had been lost.

"Let's split up." Kakashi said, glancing around. "I'll go this way."

Kohaku nodded slightly, studying him for a moment. Then he turned and began to walk down one of the streets, stopping only when Kakashi called him back for a moment.

"Be careful." Kakashi frowned beneath his mask. "We don't know what's lurking around here." He paused, looking as if he wanted to say something more. Then he turned again, and didn't say whatever it was that he was thinking.

After a moment's hesitation, Kohaku turned and continued down his path, glancing into each of the homes that he passed by, a frown on his face.

At the very end of the street was a large mansion. This seemed to be where the chaos had been centered. Scattered across the steps, were more skeletal remains, all jumbled together as if wind and scavenger animals had knocked the bones around.

Kohaku slowly went up the steps, careful to avoid stepping on the bones. He felt as if something were drawing him here, though he couldn't quite tell what it was. Perhaps it was just his imagination.

He quietly pushed open the front door and stepped inside, frowning when he saw the scattered bones across the entryway, accompanied by the rags that had once been their clothes. Judging by the material, the ones that had been left here had not been shinobi.

His frown grew worse as he went farther into the mansion, checking every room and finding similar scenes inside each one.

Kohaku finally made it to the last room, at the very back of the house. He clicked open the door and slowly stepped inside, freezing the moment he was in. The scene before him painted a very different picture than the rest before.

Most of the others, he had noticed, had been surprised or killed in their sleep, judging by the many sets of remains that he had found still in their beds, or sprawled over furniture, face down.

This room appeared to be a small infirmary, judging by the extra beds sectioned off by ornately patterned screens. There were three sets of skeletons, one on the very last bed, by the shattered window, and the other two in front of it, as if they had been protecting whoever had been lying in the bed.

Kohaku began to walk over to them, stopping when something broke beneath his foot. He glanced down, frowning at the cracked frame that held a faded photograph. He reached down and shook the photograph loose from the broken glass and lifted it up.

There were four people in the photograph. The tallest one was a man, with a mane of golden hair, and a long, but well trimmed beard. His eyes were a stern blue. Oddly enough, he vaguely resembled a fox, with his narrow face.

The woman next to him was shorter, her hair more silvery than gold, and braided neatly. Her red eyes were kind, but held a keen intelligence within them. Though her face was a little rounder, she too, resembled a fox. Her hand was placed over her rounded belly protectively, and it was clear that she had almost been ready to give birth at the time of this photo.

Standing on the woman's other side, was a tall girl, looking no more than fifteen or sixteen. Her hair was wild and untameable like her father's, but her eyes were a fierce red like her mother's. She held a beautifully patterned paper umbrella, reminiscent of his own.

The one standing at the forefront of the photo was a boy, approximately twelve or thirteen. He was short and slender, but wore a defiant expression on his face. Judging by the scuffs and scrapes on his chest plate and wrist guards, he had just gotten done with training, and it had not gone well. His eyes were blue, but softer blue than his father's.

Kohaku glanced between the photograph and the three skeletons positioned at the bed, a frown on his face. His heart broke as he realized what must have happened.

But...there was still something that didn't add up. If the pregnant woman in the photo was the one in the bed, then where was the baby? And there was also another member of the family missing as well.

A soft sigh escaped his lips as he pocketed the photo. There was nothing more that he could do here, except to give all of these victims proper burials.

Kohaku stood still for a moment before he slowly began to move over to the bed. He reached down to gather up the bones that belonged to the one lying on the bed, stopping when he spotted something peculiar.

There was an odd-looking kunai buried deep into the bed, a beautiful gold color marred by old bloodstains. A blue tassel was tied around the base, and there appeared to be some sort of kanji written on the side, although it was too faded for him to read.

Kohaku removed the kunai from the bed, stowing it away for the moment. Then he turned and left the room, leaving to go find Kakashi, casting one last glance at the family that had been killed together.

* * *

A/N: Sorry to end the chapter on such a sad note, but I hope you enjoyed reading it!

rainwalker12: Thank you! I'm glad you're enjoying it! I don't have the entire story written out. I've just been writing really fast on my nights off!


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter Eleven

Kohaku met up with Kakashi at the place they had separated earlier, a frown on his face. He was distracted. There was something that didn't add up, and he could not shake the feeling that someone was watching them.

He'd first felt as if he were being watched the moment he stepped out of the mansion. But as he looked around, he had seen no one. A quick check told him that there were no nearby chakra signatures, aside from Kakashi's, which did nothing to soothe his anxiety.

"Find anything that can tell us what happened here?" Kakashi asked, glancing around as if he, too, felt the watchful gaze upon them.

Kohaku nodded slightly, but didn't show Kakashi what he had found. He merely turned and began walking towards the compound gate, glancing back at Kakashi to see if he was following. He didn't want to risk their watcher figuring out what he'd uncovered, even though he didn't know what it meant yet.

"You've noticed it, too?" Kakashi asked softly as he followed Kohaku, looking as relaxed as ever, despite the potential threat.

Instead of responding, Kohaku stopped and looked around again. A chill ran down his spine, and he could feel the sudden killing intent behind their watcher's gaze.

The sudden shift caught him off-guard, and he wondered what had suddenly changed. He glanced around and then continued moving, his pace faster than before. He would prefer to get out of there without having to fight. Something told him that if they tried to fight, their odds weren't good.

"We should hurry." Kohaku spoke finally, glancing at Kakashi.

Unfortunately, it was too late. The moment he turned his gaze forward, he caught sight of a clenched fist aimed for his head, seeming to appear out of thin air.

Kohaku ducked, throwing up his arm to block the blow with his wrist guard. The force behind the blow was less than he had expected, and so he grabbed his attacker's wrist with his other hand to restrain him.

Kakashi moved in to help, but stopped when their attacker suddenly vanished before he could even help Kohaku restrain him. He narrowed his eye and looked around suspiciously. He wouldn't resort to using his sharingan until it was absolutely necessary.

A second later, there was another strike, coming from behind Kakashi this time. Whoever was attacking them was fast; almost faster than Kohaku was.

It was a calculated decision that Kohaku made, though he knew there was a high chance of something going wrong. He could sense the attack coming from behind Kakashi, and spun around. He moved swiftly and shoved Kakashi out of the way.

Kohaku realized what he needed to do. It would require a small sacrifice on his part, but it would give him a chance to get something that would help identify their attacker.

Instead of backing away to avoid the hit, Kohaku leapt forward, his outstretched hand closing tightly around soft fabric. His attacker's fist collided with his face, and Kohaku's head snapped to the side with the force of the blow.

And then, oddly enough, their attacker vanished into thin air like before, except this time he took Kohaku with him. It was not by choice, but instead because Kohaku refused to let go of him.

Kohaku found himself flung against a large tree a moment later, in an entirely different place than where he had been before. The fabric he had been holding onto tore free, and in his dazed confusion, Kohaku managed to stuff the fabric into one of his pockets for safekeeping.

He looked up quickly, just in time to catch sight of a strange looking mask before his attacker struck again.

There was a loud crack and pain blossomed throughout his face from his nose. Two blows to the head from this strange shinobi were nearly enough to put him out, and he had a feeling that if many more landed, he would not be thinking much anymore.

Kohaku moved quick as a flash, rolling to the left to avoid another blow and unstrapping his naginata from his back. He was up in an instant, but he wasn't able to put distance between them quickly enough to avoid another blow that connected with his jaw.

A grunt of pain escaped his lips, and he staggered backwards, trying to use the opportunity to put distance between them so he could properly defend himself.

It wasn't enough. He flung up his naginata to defend against a blow meant for his face, but the strange masked man's other hand weaved through his guard, and directly hit his throat.

Kohaku crashed backwards into a tree, the back of his head slamming against the rough bark. He slid down to the ground, struggling to breathe. His vision blurred as he watched his attacker turn and vanish into thin air again, leaving Kohaku to wonder how he managed to disappear like that.

He shut one eye as blood began to seep into it, his breaths coming in strangled gasps as he slowly regained the ability to breathe. It hadn't been a hard enough hit to crush his windpipe, but it was enough to incapacitate him while the masked man made his escape.

After a few moments, Kohaku forced himself to stand, drawing in deep breaths. He looked around, trying to figure out where he had ended up.

Trees surrounded him, similar to the ones that surrounded the Kanemaru complex. If these were the same type of trees, then he couldn't be too far from the complex and Kakashi.

A soft sigh escaped Kohaku's lips as he tried to catch a familiar scent that would take him back to where he had been before, but only caught the scent of blood. It was pointless to try with a bloody nose, so he would have to come up with something else.

His mind was too dazed and scrambled right now for him to try to sense Kakashi's chakra, but maybe he could call one of his summons to help guide him back.

Luckily, he didn't have to try that, because a moment later, a small pug came his way, wearing a leaf headband. Someone's ninken, and judging by his leaf headband, an ally. A sigh of relief escaped his lips and he reached down to offer his hand to the pug.

Kakashi arrived moments later, his one visible eye widened with what appeared to be fear, though Kohaku couldn't help but wonder if he was just imagining the fear.

"Are you alright?" Kakashi asked, going to his side and putting one hand on his shoulder to steady him. "Kohaku?" He spoke again when there was no answer.

"I'm alright." Kohaku replied finally, wincing at the pain in his jaw and the massive headache that was forming. His voice was hoarse and pained, though he tried to hide it.

He took a deep breath, rubbing at his sore throat for a moment before reaching into his pocket and retrieving the scrap of fabric he had managed to tear from the masked man's clothing. He stared down at the fabric, blinking to clear the blurriness. It was black on one side, while the other side was purple. After a moment, he put it back in his pocket with the other things.

"Sit down and rest for a moment." Kakashi said when Kohaku began to walk away slowly. He reached out and grabbed his hand to stop him.

Kohaku glanced back and frowned. He tilted his head to the side questioningly as his gaze shifted towards their now linked hands. Then he shook his head a little and sighed. They couldn't stay here without risking being attacked again. "Find somewhere safer." He mumbled, slowly pulling his hand away.

With only a moment's hesitation, Kakashi nodded, keeping a close eye on him. He glanced at Pakkun and nodded, murmuring his thanks as the pug disappeared in a puff of smoke, and stuck close to Kohaku as they made their way through the woods and back in the direction of Konoha.

They walked for a while, Kohaku growing increasingly unstable, until Kakashi finally made him stop once they reached a clearing with a fallen log.

Kohaku sat down on the log at Kakashi's request, and shut his eyes for a moment while Kakashi took a look at his face. He didn't make a single noise when Kakashi gently pinched his swollen nose and tilted his head back to stop the steady bleeding.

"...Does it hurt?" Kakashi asked after a moment, letting go and tilting Kohaku's head back up gently.

Kohaku opened his eyes slowly and shook his head slightly. He didn't know why he was lying now. He supposed that it was just a habit now, even though he had unwillingly grown comfortable in Kakashi's presence, to the point that he was speaking more and finding that he was able to relax around him. Surely, it would be safe to admit his pain?

"Why do you always lie about it?" Kakashi asked softly, recalling several instances previously that he had also lied about his pain.

Glancing up at him, Kohaku tilted his head. He met Kakashi's dark grey eye with his own mismatched red and blue eyes, wondering how he could properly answer without having to actually speak. It was difficult being asked a question that he couldn't nod or shake his head to, especially when his jaw hurt so badly. He decided that honesty was important here.

"Because...it does not matter what I feel. My pain does not matter, so long as I am able to serve as Konoha's weapon." Kohaku paused for a moment, shifting his gaze away from Kakashi's. "It is my only purpose, and I cannot let a little thing like pain get in the way of that. I do not matter, but if there is some good that I can bring with my life or even my death, then that is alright with me."

"That's not true." Kakashi said, his voice suddenly stern and angry. He put his hands on Kohaku's shoulders, drawing his gaze back to his own. "You do matter. You matter to Hisahito-san and Hisayo-san, and to Minato-sensei, and...you matter to me. You are not just a weapon. You are my friend."

Kohaku's eyes widened briefly as he met Kakashi's gaze. He understood the meaning behind the word 'friend,' but he hadn't ever really been close enough to anyone to have one. Or so he'd thought. He supposed that perhaps he had assumed too soon that no one would ever accept him as he was, as he had been made to feel all those years ago. He couldn't stop the soft, genuine smile from spreading across his face as he shifted his gaze away.

"Thank you, Kakashi-san."

The pair made good time returning to Konoha, not wanting to keep Minato waiting with their reports. The discussion they had with Minato was brief, but serious. As there was currently nothing they could do for the Kanemaru Clan, save for giving them proper burials, Minato sent them home for some well-deserved rest.

Kohaku took his time going home, umbrella opened so that he could shield himself from the warm sun. Though he enjoyed the warmth, after all this time, he still had difficulty dealing with bright light, much preferring the soft light of the moon or campfire, or the little fox-shaped night light he kept near his bed at night.

The bruises on his face attracted quite a bit of attention, but he hardly noticed anymore. The first few weeks he'd been back, he'd been constantly stared at, which was understandable, considering that he'd been declared dead for almost ten years.

Shutting his umbrella, Kohaku slowly walked up the steps to his apartment. After no more threats had been made towards him and after he'd improved his traps, he had gone back to using his own apartment, feeling more comfortable there, instead of the room he had been temporarily renting from a kind old woman down the street.

He stopped at his door, feeling rather uneasy for a moment. Then he shook it off and opened the door, freezing in his tracks.

What greeted him was not a little dust from his absence, but instead blood. It was everywhere, dried all across the walls and the floor. However, it was not the blood that scared him so much.

It was his summon's severed head sitting on the end table, golden ears tattered beyond recognition, and her soft golden fur dyed crimson with her blood. Perhaps the most horrifying part of it all was that her gentle green eyes had been forcibly removed from her skull.

Kohaku stepped inside the apartment, his eyes wide with the horror he could not contain. He looked around slowly, following the trail of blood that led into the kitchen.

Scattered around the kitchen, were his summon's limbs, left lying without care for where they ended up. His gaze slowly shifted towards the wall, and he stared at the message that had been left for him.

'You're next.'


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter Twelve

Kohaku was no stranger to fear, but this was something different. He was terrified, and he could not even come up with a reason for why he was being targeted this way. He could not think of a single thing he had ever done that would elicit such savage hatred.

Slowly looking around, Kohaku followed a second, smaller blood trail back to his room. He stopped and stared at his bed, where his summon's green eyes laid on his pillow with the words 'see you' written in blood beneath them.

It was a cruel message, and Kohaku felt like throwing up. Had she suffered? Had she been alive when she'd been dismembered? He hoped not, but knew the harsh reality of the situation. He knew that whoever had left this gruesome scene for him would have no qualms about torturing their victim.

Kohaku turned around slowly and made his way to his bathroom, taking care with every step, so that if he were being watched right that moment, his horror would not show.

Everything spun around him, and he knew that it was not a result of his head injuries. It was more likely shock than anything else.

As Kohaku leaned over the toilet and threw up, he heard someone call his name. It was distorted and vague, and he could not determine who the voice belonged to, or where it came from. He didn't care who it was.

His horror began to fade, replaced by a rage he had never felt before. He had never understood the idea of revenge before, knowing the futility of it, when nothing could be done to replace what had been lost. But now...now, he understood the reason why so many people chose that path.

He wanted to make whoever had done this suffer. He was going to catch them, and he was going to kill them. But before he killed them, he would do the same thing that had been done to his poor summon. He would make them suffer, and he would make them beg for death. He would make them regret torturing and taking the life of someone who could not even defend herself. He would…

"Kohaku!" Kakashi's hands on his shoulders startled him out of his dark thoughts. "What happened?!"

Almost immediately, Kohaku began to burn with shame. He'd let his mind wander down a dark and dangerous path that he had turned himself away from years ago, a path that he had vowed never to follow.

Kohaku slowly looked up at Kakashi, fighting to keep his blank expression in tact, not realizing that there were tears streaming down his face. He couldn't speak. He wanted to tell Kakashi, but he could not force himself to say a word.

Instead, he wiped his mouth with one shaking hand and flushed the toilet, watching the water swirl for a moment. Then he slowly stood up, his knees buckling beneath him. Why was he suddenly so weak?

Kakashi caught him before he hit the ground, and helped him up. "Let's go." He said softly. "You're not staying here."

Kohaku didn't respond, allowing Kakashi to help him out, moving in a disjointed sort of way. He stopped at the front door, refusing to budge for a moment while he glanced back at his summon's severed head.

"I'm sorry…" He whispered, his tears flowing faster now. He had failed, and someone innocent had been killed in the process.

His rage came back in full force for a moment and he shook free of Kakashi's grasp, storming back into his apartment. He grabbed the only available writing materials he had, a paintbrush and large piece of canvas, and stormed into his bedroom, followed by a concerned Kakashi.

"What are you doing?" Kakashi asked, trying to grab his arm, only for Kohaku to shake him off.

Kohaku ignored him, neatly painting a message on the canvas in black ink. 'I will find you,' it read. He set the canvas down and made several complicated hand seals, hands glowing faintly black with chakra. Then he grabbed a kunai from his pouch and sliced the palm of his left hand before Kakashi could stop him.

He placed his hand on the canvas, smearing his blood across it. As his hand swept across the canvas, the blood he left behind began to form a seal. He muttered something softly under his breath, so quietly that Kakashi would not hear the technique he was using.

When he was finished, he picked the canvas up and placed it on the bed, under the message he had been left on his pillow. Then he turned and faced Kakashi, his gaze to the floor.

"Come on." Kakashi sighed, realizing that it would be best to just get him out of there instead of asking a bunch of questions that wouldn't be answered. He grabbed Kohaku's wrist and gently led him out of the apartment, making sure he actually followed this time.

Kohaku followed Kakashi silently, his mind in other places. He couldn't stop picturing what had been done to his summon. She had never been a threat; she had no shinobi skills. Was that really what someone was going to do to him? And for what?

Slowly, the pieces began to come together. She'd gone missing sometime after she had told Kohaku about the potential plot to end Minato's life. Ichika had tried to kill Minato, and then shortly after that, the first message had been left for him.

Signs were pointing towards Ichika as the attacker. The messages that had been left fit her personality, and she had attacked Minato. But...she wasn't smart enough to come up with a plan to assassinate Minato on her own, at least not one that had the potential to be successful. It would take someone stronger and more calculating, and someone capable of containing their anger to see this through without being distracted.

Or, there was the possibility that these things were not connected at all. Perhaps Kohaku had merely angered someone in some way, and it was not connected to a bigger plot at all. He still could not think of a single thing would have incurred such anger towards him, as he had never let his identity slip even once, and no one would have a clue that it was him passing along information, unless they were very good at this.

Either way, he wasn't going to let his fear take over him and make him a weaker target. He would be ready when they came for him.

* * *

The next few days passed in relative quiet, and nothing of note happened. Kohaku did not go back to his apartment, even after Hisahito had helped him clean up the mess that had been left. He did not feel comfortable or safe there, as if a dark shroud of bad luck hung around the apartment.

Kohaku had been spending most of his days hanging around the village with very little to do. Minato had been alerted to the situation, and had been keeping him close to the village until the situation could be dealt with.

Minato had framed it as a mission to placate him. While Kohaku was cooped up in the village, he could keep watch over Naruto. There was concern among some of the shinobi that someone might try to use Naruto to get to Minato.

Most of the time, Naruto was at the academy, however, which left Kohaku a great chunk of time where he had nothing to do, much to his irritation. He needed some way to get rid of his restless energy, so he had taken to wandering the village with nothing but his thoughts to entertain him.

Kakashi had been sent on a mission, and likely wouldn't be back for another month, judging by how long the briefing had taken, so Kohaku had taken to hanging around some of the other shinobi. It was an awkward attempt to make friends, and so far, it was not panning out at all.

Kohaku wasn't surprised. Most people were unnerved by him; they were unnerved by his silence, and he had never tried to form bonds with them before. Either way, he wasn't discouraged.

As the afternoon wore on, Kohaku began making his way towards the academy to walk Naruto home. Safe as it was in the village normally, they were taking special care to make sure that nothing could be used to get to Minato, and Naruto seemed to like Kohaku anyway.

Naruto came barrelling out of the academy gates as Kohaku walked up, not even slowing down as he got closer to Kohaku. He had tried this before in many different ways, and it always ended the same way.

Kohaku reached down and gently grabbed the back of Naruto's shirt as he tried to zoom past. "Nice try." He said quietly. "But you'll have to learn how to be faster than that." It was difficult for him to keep his silence around Naruto, as Naruto wasn't really capable of reading his expressions. He found himself speaking more often than usual while he was around Naruto, though he found that he didn't mind so much.

"Aww, man!" Naruto looked up at Kohaku and pouted. Then he grinned, as if he had come up with the greatest idea. "Can we stop for ramen?!"

A frown crossed Kohaku's face. Kushina likely already had something planned for dinner, and wouldn't be happy if Naruto spoiled his appetite and didn't eat at home. He didn't want to see her get angry.

"Come on, please!" Naruto begged, looking up at Kohaku with hopeful eyes. He wasn't going to let it go, it seemed.

"Your mother won't be happy." Kohaku said with a sigh, trying to come up with something different. "How about I show you something else?"

"Like what?" Naruto asked, crossing his arms and staring up at Kohaku. He really wanted ramen, judging by his expression, and he wouldn't be easily pleased.

Kohaku crouched down next to Naruto, gesturing for him to get on his back. When he did, he stood up. "Hold on tight."

And then he was gone, leaping from rooftop to rooftop with Naruto on his back. He made his way towards the Hokage Rock, planning on taking him up to the top to look at the view. He was sure he had been there before, but thought it would be nice to sit and relax there for a bit.

Once at the top, Kohaku stopped and let Naruto down. He reached out and took his hand to make sure he didn't stray too close to the edge. He followed Naruto around as he checked out every crevice and rock, making Kohaku wonder what he was looking for.

"Can I ask you some questions?" Naruto asked, looking up at the shinobi holding his hand.

Kohaku nodded slightly, glancing down at the child. He already knew that he was going to ask either way, and he didn't mind so much because he knew that Naruto never meant any harm by his actions or questions.

"Why did everyone think you were dead?" Naruto asked, looking up at him curiously. He poked Kohaku's side, as if to test if he was actually alive or not. When his test had proven his case, he nodded in confirmation. "You're clearly not dead."

"Because I should be." Kohaku replied softly. "I sacrificed myself so that Hatake-san could bring medicine back to the village."

"Then...how did you survive?" Naruto tilted his head, clearly confused by his answer.

That was the one question that he had never been able to answer. By all rights, he should've been dead. If not from the fall, which had been broken by the shinobi he had pushed over the edge, then the strange beast hunting him in the caves should have killed him. Just thinking about it sent shivers down his spine.

Kohaku glanced at Naruto and smiled. He ruffled his hair a little and then shook his head. "Let's go back."

And so, Kohaku took Naruto home, unaware of the troubles that would unfold the next day.


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter Thirteen

The next day, everything went wrong.

Halfway through the day, Minato and Kushina's greatest fear came to life. On his way back into the academy after lunch, Naruto had been abducted, and the chuunin that had tried to protect him had been brutally killed.

Both Naruto and his captor had vanished into thin air, and every available shinobi was out looking for the Hokage's son, fearing that he may already be far beyond their reach.

Kohaku went straight to Minato and Kushina when he heard the news, knowing that he had to stop them from leaving the village. If it was a trap, which it most certainly was, it was a well laid trap, and Naruto's captors were planning for his parents to come retrieve him.

"Minato-sensei, Kushina-san, please do not leave the village." Kohaku said softly, catching them as they were about to leave the village.

"We have to find him!" Kushina was angry, and Kohaku almost flinched at her expression. "We're going to bring him home!"

Kohaku remained firmly in their way, and he was glad that Minato was at least listening. "It feels like a trap. If you go, the two of you will become the next targets. What do they gain by drawing you out? What will happen to Naruto if you do not come back? Please allow me to go after them in your stead."

Kushina looked like she wanted to argue, but Minato put a hand on her arm to soothe her. His eyes were dark with worry and fear. He clearly wanted to go himself, but he knew what would happen if he did. The village would be left vulnerable, and there was a chance that this was a trap to draw him out. "Bring him back to us."

"I promise you that I will bring him back safely." Kohaku nodded, immediately turning to leave. "Don't worry."

And then he was gone, fast as lightning. He had already caught Naruto's scent, weak because of the time that had passed already. It didn't matter that the trail was weakening; he was moving so fast that he would catch up soon. He had already passed the other shinobi searching the area around the village.

Kohaku stopped and turned back suddenly, returning to one of the shinobi he had passed earlier. Having forgotten his own earpiece, he managed to convince the shinobi to allow him to borrow theirs for the time being. He had a feeling that Kushina would not wait for him to return with Naruto, so he wanted to give her some sort of proof. Perhaps both Minato and Kushina would be soothed by hearing that Naruto was alright.

Once he had managed to contact Minato and Kushina, he continued on his way. He kept the sound on, making certain they would be able to hear what was going on, though he was careful to make sure that his hair covered the earpiece so that it wouldn't be noticed by Naruto's captor.

It didn't take long for Kohaku to catch up with his prey, and he was not surprised to find that it was Ichika that had done the kidnapping. She was struggling with Naruto, trying to restrain the six-year-old and having a particularly difficult time with it, despite her obvious advantage.

Naruto had clearly taken his academy lessons to heart, though he still lacked the skill and finesse it took to properly dispatch someone as slippery as Ichika. Somehow, he had managed to steal a kunai from her, and he was flailing it around at her face wildly.

Kohaku couldn't help but snort. He appeared to be unhurt, though he would check for certain once he had taken care of Ichika. He heard Kushina from his earpiece, but paid no attention to what she was saying, instead staying focused on Ichika.

As he studied her closely, he spotted a seal on her wrist, resembling the one he had placed on the canvas in a rage after he had found his summon's remains. It was a confirmation that she had, in fact, been the one stealing into his apartment when he wasn't there.

He had wondered why it hadn't worked, when it had been sitting there for a while already, and now he understood. Ichika had made contact with the seal with her puppet hand, and the seal needed live flesh to anchor her there until he returned. It had been an oversight on his part.

Kohaku struck while Ichika was dealing with Naruto, swiftly making his way behind her and slamming the blunt end of his naginata against the back of her head with frightening force. Then he made several hand seals and a clone appeared, wrenching Naruto from Ichika's slackened grip.

His clone fled to a nearby clearing with Naruto; he didn't want to send his clone too far, in case there were others working with Ichika. His clone paled in comparison to him when it came to strength.

At first, it seemed as if Ichika had been stunned by the hit to her head, but soon enough she twisted her head nearly one hundred and eighty degrees slowly, in order to stare him down. The rage on her face, was nothing quite like anything that Kohaku had ever seen, and he would have been afraid, if he were not already so angry at her. She had killed and tortured his summon.

"Did you like your gift?" Was all Ichika asked, her rage shifting to gloat, the smirk on her face sickening him. She slowly turned the rest of her body around to face him, tilting her head to the left and then to the right when he didn't answer.

Kohaku leapt backwards, easily avoiding the blade hidden in her puppet arm when she jabbed it at him. Almost immediately, he struck back, already coming up with a plan to end her miserable life.

For the moment, he kept in the middle position, swapping as need be for attacks and blocks, while Ichika used her sword arm to try and batter his defenses, or get close enough to actually hit him. She wasn't quick enough to get inside his guard, and thus, he was able to keep her at bay while he came up with a strategy to combat her puppetry and unconventional body modifications.

They remained at a stalemate for quite some time, Kohaku only landing superficial hits, while Ichika only managed to slash through his haori once.

The stalemate was broken when Ichika slipped her puppet arm back over the blade, immediately yanking her other arm free, revealing a longer, folded blade, which folded outwards and clicked into place the moment she had tossed her puppet arm out of the way.

The battle resumed, but still, Ichika could not land a hit on Kohaku, though she stayed unusually quiet throughout, not showing even the slightest bit of frustration. And then she turned one of Kohaku's tactics from their last battle, and used it against him.

"Did you figure out that I took your little fox apart while she was still alive? I started with her pretty little tail." Ichika cackled, her golden eyes glinting with the light of the sun. "Actually, I still have it with me!"

Kohaku stiffened as she reached into one of her larger pockets and retrieved a bloody tail, golden fur matted and stained with blood that had already dried. The sight was too much for him, and he was struck with a deep-seated bolt of rage.

He grew angrier and angrier, attacking Ichika with reckless abandon. He was so angry that he did not realize this was her ploy to get him to let his guard down. She was able to edge closer and closer, ducking and leaping over his strikes and returning her own with twice the strength that she had exerted previously.

"Did you know, she cried and cried and cried, and no matter how many times she asked me to kill her, I didn't do it until I'd already taken each of her little limbs and gouged her eyes out! It was quite the sight to see!" Ichika's cackle grew darker and colder as she bored through his defenses.

Kohaku's rage grew, and he struck with such ferocity that his blade did not even need to physically hit its target to cause massive damage, though Ichika's blade was enough to stop it from getting close to any vital spots, assuming she was still human enough to have any.

Finally, Kohaku's blade hit it's mark, digging deeply into her left eye socket. Blood spurted from the wound, and Ichika let out a howl, launching herself at Kohaku with such savagery and speed that he didn't quite have enough time to get out of her way completely.

The pair went tumbling to the ground, and Ichika's sword arm dug deeply into the space below his chest guard, drawing blood with one sharp flick of her wrist. They rolled around in the grass like a pair of children, having each somehow forgotten their training in favor of just beating the living shit out of each other with their fists, and teeth in Ichika's case.

Eventually, Kohaku managed to pin Ichika, keeping her from wriggling out of place. He had long since dropped his naginata, and so he retrieved a kunai that one of them had dropped in their savage fight, and bringing it down into her chest.

There was a puff of smoke, and Ichika's body had been replaced with a hollow log. The kunai dug deep into the wood and did not budge.

Kohaku leapt to his feet too late, Ichika's sword arm slashing through the delicate muscles behind his knee. His leg buckled beneath him, and he dropped to the ground, twisting to face her.

He grabbed his metal umbrella swiftly and opened it just in time for Ichika's sword arm to bounce harmlessly off the metal. It took a massive shove with his umbrella to send her flying backwards into a tree.

It was entirely too late for any of that, however. The moment Ichika stood up and dusted herself, the blue chakra strings attached to her puppet arm appeared, connected to Kohaku's arm and leg.

Ichika forced Kohaku to his feet as she approached him, her one remaining golden eye glaring fiercely at him. "Looks like I'm finally better than you."

Kohaku slipped his one usable hand behind his back, quickly making a set of complicated hand seals. His hand began to glow with black chakra, and quick as a flash, he swiped his hand up, passing it across her one remaining eye and her ears.

"Yin Technique: Paralyzing Fear." His voice was soft and cold, and he knew the moment he finished speaking, she had lost her sight and hearing temporarily, the only sound the pounding of her heart and the snarls of the shadowy creatures that had begun to prowl around them.

Glinting white claws, and savage yellow teeth haunted the mouths of these unidentifiable creatures as they circled the pair.

"What...what the fuck?!" There was a shred of fear in Ichika's voice as her hearing expanded only to the snarls the creatures made. A shriek escaped her lips as one of the creatures launched itself at her, and Kohaku knew that she had been able to glimpse the claws and fangs of the beast.

While she was distracted, Kohaku snatched up his naginata and slashed through the chakra threads. He stood up slowly, using his naginata to support himself until he caught his bearings. Then he turned away at the sound of the excited howling of the beasts when their fangs actually met flesh. A chill ran down his spine, though he knew the beasts would not come after him.

Kohaku briefly wondered if she would be able to break free of the genjutsu, then shook his head. Even if she did, the beasts would still tear her apart. It was an unpleasant thought, so he kept himself from looking as he slowly limped away.

"You damned bastard! You're not gonna get away that easily!" Ichika's voice went up an octave as well as in volume, and Kohaku could not help but flinch at the grating of her voice on his sensitive ears.

Sensing something off, Kohaku quickly shifted to the side and spun around, managing to keep his weight on his good leg just barely. A kunai whizzed past his face, missing his eye by a fraction of an inch. A few small wefts of golden hair drifted after the kunai.

Kohaku was not quick enough to leap out of the way of the second kunai, that Ichika had flung with a particular viciousness. The kunai scored a deep cut across his right eyelid with its razor-sharp edge, but thankfully missed his left as he twisted his head just enough.

"An eye for an eye!" Ichika shrieked as she struggled against the beasts, her hand making clumsy seals. There was a puff of smoke, and then she was gone.

A soft sigh escaped Kohaku's lips as he reached up to touch his injured eye. He was glad that he had been quick enough to shut it before the kunai struck him, but there was still no guarantee that it wouldn't affect his vision down the road.

Kohaku slowly made his way towards the clearing his clone had taken Naruto to keep him safe. As he walked, he tightened his sash around himself to hopefully slow the bleeding from the wound that Ichika had carved just below his ribcage.

He found Naruto safely hidden in the clearing and breathed a sigh of relief. It took a single hand seal to dispel the clone, and he went over to the little boy. He reached down and lifted him into his arms, directing Naruto to wrap his arms around his neck and his legs around his waist, while he wrapped one of his own arms around Naruto's back to support him. He carried his naginata in his free hand and sighed.

Kohaku suddenly remembered his earpiece and let out a sigh. He stopped for a moment and checked to make sure it hadn't been damaged, frowning when he realized that he'd somehow managed to switch it off. He flipped it back on and paused for a moment before speaking.

"I have him. He's safe." Kohaku spoke softly as he continued on his way home. His gaze shifted towards Naruto, who was unusually quiet, and he frowned. "We're on our way back, and will arrive shortly." He wasn't certain about arriving soon, because of his injured leg, but he didn't want to have them worry much more.

There was a moment of silence before Kushina could be heard sobbing. A frown crossed his face; he had never once imagined that she would cry.

"Thank you, Kohaku." Minato spoke up finally, his voice tired, and yet relieved. "Who was responsible?" His voice grew a little colder with that question.

"Akagi Ichika. She escaped, but I doubt she'll live long." Kohaku paused briefly. "Assuming she's still human enough to die."

It took ten minutes longer to return to the village than Kohaku had expected, but he had stayed on the line the entire time, and so Minato and Kushina did not worry.

Naruto was beginning to recover by the time they reached the village gates, lifting his head and glancing around with his wide blue eyes. He leapt from Kohaku's arms the moment that Minato and Kushina came into view, returning to his parents' loving arms.

Kohaku couldn't help but smile a little as he limped his way over to them, taking his time so that he didn't strain himself much more. He relaxed as he drew closer, glad that he had managed to protect Naruto.

A puzzled expression crossed his face when he spotted Kakashi leaning against the wall to the side, looking rather anxious until he spotted Kohaku. He had thought that Kakashi wasn't supposed to be back from his mission for quite some time yet, but supposed that it must have ended early for some reason or another.

Minato left Naruto with Kushina for a moment, making his way over to Kohaku. He pulled him into a hug and ruffled his already out of place hair. "Thank you."

Kohaku gave a brief nod, somewhat startled by the sudden hug. He'd never been hugged before, but...it was a nice feeling. It was safe and comfortable.

After a moment, Minato let go and returned to his wife and child, ruffling his hair one last time. As he passed Kakashi, he paused to ask him something. Kakashi nodded and straightened up, making his way over to Kohaku while Minato took his family home for the time being.

"You should clean yourself up." Kakashi said softly, studying him closely. "Is this all your blood…?" He asked, reaching up slowly to wipe away the blood over Kohaku's injured eye.

"No." Kohaku replied, wincing as Kakashi's fingers brushed against the wound. He reached up and grabbed Kakashi's hand, gently pushing it away from his eye. "But...that does hurt."

Kakashi frowned beneath his mask. There'd been so much blood that he hadn't even realized there was a wound there. "Sorry."

Kohaku shook his head and slowly headed in through the village gates. He could feel the strange static fuzziness around his consciousness that told him he was losing too much blood and he swayed a little on his feet.

Noticing his unsteadiness, Kakashi followed behind him, placing one hand on his shoulder to keep him steady. "Maybe you should sit down for a moment." There was a note of warning in his voice, but Kohaku couldn't quite figure out what it was.

"Can…" Kohaku hesitated, feeling rather uncomfortable about showing weakness of any sort. "Can you help me back to my apartment?" He didn't want to go stay at some stranger's house again, like he had been the last few nights. Even though he wasn't comfortable in his own space, it was his, and it was familiar.

"You don't really plan on staying there, do you?" Kakashi asked with a sigh. Even though he was just down the hall, he didn't particularly like the idea of his friend going back to the place that had been repeatedly broken into.

"I...want to be somewhere familiar." Kohaku was growing irritated; it was difficult to express how he felt with his words without sounding weak, and he didn't like it. He didn't like the vulnerability. He was supposed to be a weapon, tough as steel, and yet his voice was almost trembling.

Kakashi seemed to hesitate, and Kohaku wondered what he wanted to say. In the way he always did, Kohaku tilted his head in a questioning manner, as if asking what he was wanting to say.

"You should really go to the hospital before anything else, but…" Kakashi studied Kohaku, as if understanding that he really didn't want to go today. He sighed and shook his head. "You can stay with me for tonight, but first thing tomorrow morning, you're going to the hospital."

That was a surprise. Kohaku hadn't expected him to offer that up. It was extremely tempting; Kakashi's apartment was familiar, and it was safe. After a moment, he nodded slightly and relaxed just a little.

The rest of their walk to Kakashi's apartment was made in silence; comfortable and familiar, the same as it had been so many years ago, before Kohaku had sacrificed himself for Kakashi.

When they arrived at Kakashi's apartment finally, Kohaku could not help but ask a question that had been burning in his mind since he first saw Kakashi that night. "When I came back with Naruto today...why did you look so afraid?"

Kakashi frowned, glancing at Kohaku. "I…" His voice was hesitant, something unusual for Kakashi. He shut the apartment door and helped Kohaku into the kitchen before he finally gave him an answer. "I was scared that you were going to disappear again. I...have lost so many people before, and I don't want to lose anyone else. I don't want to lose you twice."

Kohaku was startled by his honest and straightforward answer. He could not hide the frown on his face, and he wanted to do something to reassure Kakashi.

Slowly, he leaned forward in the chair Kakashi had made him sit in, and reached out for Kakashi, tentatively pulling him down into a hug. "I won't disappear. I'm here." He promised, not letting even a little of his pain show when Kakashi returned the hug tightly.

After a moment, Kakashi pulled away and gently ruffled his friend's hair. He smiled beneath his mask and left the room for a moment, returning with a roll of bandages and a bowl of water and a washcloth.

"Sit still." Kakashi said, pulling a chair up in front of him. "Is this all of Ichika's blood?" He asked, noting the massive bloodstain that had soaked through Kohaku's haori.

Kohaku shook his head a little, fumbling with his sash. He managed to undo it, and shifted his haori off, though he left his steel chestplate on for the moment, as it wouldn't be in the way.

He saw concern in Kakashi's expression and the way that his shoulders tensed up. He stayed silent as Kakashi began to wipe away the blood to look at the wound more closely. It hurt, but he didn't say a word, allowing Kakashi to bandage the wound in silence.

A small frown formed on Kohaku's face when he realized that Kakashi had allowed himself to be vulnerable in front of him, had trusted him with things that he likely wouldn't say any other time, or to any other person. Perhaps it would be alright to give Kakashi the same trust.

"Do you remember the night that we spoke by the memorial stone? You asked me how I survived." Kohaku spoke softly, his voice hardly more than a whisper as Kakashi finished bandaging the wound under his ribcage.

Kakashi glanced up at him briefly. "I remember." He said softly, stretching Kohaku's injured leg out so that he could examine the wound better. He set to work again wiping away the blood around the wound, glancing up to meet Kohaku's gaze every so often.

"I ask myself the same question every day." Kohaku paused for a moment, wincing as a jolt of pain ran up his leg. "That shinobi we were fighting broke my fall, but I don't know how I survived after that...I should be dead. I spent a year down there."

Kakashi finished wrapping Kohaku's knee, frowning beneath his mask. "You don't have to tell me." He said softly, scooting his chair closer to Kohaku. "Lean forward."

Kohaku did as he was told, leaning closer to Kakashi. He sat still as Kakashi slowly wiped the blood away from his injured eye.

"Kakashi?" Kohaku spoke hesitantly, hoping that he wouldn't upset him by not using any honorifics. "I'm glad you're my friend. Thank you." He leaned close again and wrapped his arms around Kakashi in a hug, resting his face against his neck. He was so tired.

And just like that, he was out like a light, sleeping peacefully.


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter Fourteen

Several days went by, and Kohaku slowly began to regain vision in his right eye. The medic nin that had looked over his injuries had told him that if the wound had been any deeper, it would have been unlikely that he would ever see out of that eye again.

Recovery was slow going, and Kohaku frequently found himself lacking in things to keep himself busy. It was even more difficult, since he'd been ordered to stay off his feet as much as possible while his leg healed.

The first few days, Kohaku had been sprawled out across Kakashi's couch, sleeping most of the time. He'd slept for eighteen hours after returning from the hospital, and it had alarmed Kakashi at first.

It was not unusual for Kohaku to sleep so much after a battle, especially one that he had expended so much chakra in. He'd only used a single technique, but it was a technique that was difficult to control, and in order to control it to the point that he did, he needed to use a large portion of chakra. It was one of the reasons that he preferred not to use that technique if he didn't have to.

A soft sigh escaped Kohaku's lips as he leaned back and shut his eyes. He undid his ponytail and let his hair down, curling up with his injured leg stretched out carefully. He was still struggling from the after effects of chakra exhaustion, so he thought it wouldn't be a bad idea to get some more sleep.

When Kohaku next woke, it was not because he'd rested enough, or because he was hungry, which tended to be one of the few reasons he woke up suddenly when he was deeply asleep. He woke because he suddenly could not breathe.

His eyes snapped open, a strangled cry escaping his lips. Though his vision was blurred, he could clearly make out the mask of the man that had attacked Kakashi and himself at the Kanemaru residence, the orange swirl mask being something difficult to forget. It was the first time he noticed, however, the eye that stared out at him through the singular hole in the mask, red with the Sharingan.

Kohaku struggled with the hands clasped tightly around his throat, trying desperately to pry the masked man's iron grip away from his throat, and failing miserably. He was still weak with his injuries, and it was difficult to fight against him.

"I should have dealt with you myself sooner." The masked man snarled, tightening his grip around Kohaku's throat.

Realizing that he wouldn't be able to make him let go so easily, Kohaku switched tactics and reached backwards for the lamp on the end table, struggling desperately to reach it; his naginata was sitting in the corner, too far for him to reach. His vision was beginning to darken and grow fuzzy as he struggled to breathe.

Kohaku's hand brushed against the lamp, and he pawed at it, trying to bring it closer so that he could grab it.

He was hit with despair when the lamp slid off the table and out of reach, shattering on the ground with a resounding crash. He'd lost his chance, and now he could hardly scrape at the masked man's grip, faint hacking noises barely managing to escape his lips.

His hands grew weaker and weaker until they eventually fell limp, his vision fading to black, catching sight of Kakashi rushing to his aid before everything vanished in darkness. The last thing he felt was a faint flash of chakra, impossibly familiar and completely unexpected.

And then he was cold and empty and alone, and so very afraid. He could feel himself succumbing to the cold numbness of death, and fought against it. He wasn't ready to die yet, and certainly not like this.

Then he heard the faint sound of someone calling his name. He couldn't figure out who it was, but they sounded so scared, and for a reason he couldn't grasp yet, it hurt to hear them sound so sad. Ever so slowly, he reached out for the voice, wanting to find its owner to comfort them.

When Kohaku next woke, he began to cough and gasp for breath and could not stop for several moments. He didn't know what was happening, wondering if he had died.

Kohaku opened his eyes slowly and found himself cradled in someone's arms, held so tightly, as if they were afraid of letting him go. After a moment, he realized that it was Kakashi, and frowned a little. He didn't seem to have noticed that Kohaku had woken up yet, despite the coughing and hacking. Perhaps it was shock.

Slowly, Kohaku lifted his hand and patted Kakashi's head gently. It was a struggle to move at first, but he was beginning to recover, if only a little.

"Kohaku?" Kakashi's voice cracked, and he jerked his head up quickly to see if he was imagining it. The fear and absolute heartbreak in his eyes was quickly replaced by relief, though not quickly enough for Kohaku to miss it. It hurt him to see Kakashi like that.

"I'm alright." Kohaku whispered, shutting his eyes for a moment. Then he sighed softly, trying to ignore the pain in his swollen throat. "Don't be sad. I'm here, and I'm alright." It hurt to speak, but he hated seeing Kakashi like that and wanted to reassure him that everything was alright.

"I thought…" Kakashi didn't need to finish speaking for Kohaku to understand what he meant. "I thought you…" He pulled Kohaku into a tighter hug, one arm wrapped tightly around his waist, and his other hand gently supporting Kohaku's neck, fingers tangled in his soft golden hair.

Kohaku slowly wrapped his shaking, unsteady arms around Kakashi, his racing heart beginning to settle. He felt safe in Kakashi's arms like this, and could not help but relax and let his guard down. "I think I did for a minute, but...I think I heard your voice. You were calling my name...and I just wanted to...tell you that it's alright...and then I woke up. You brought me back." He knew he was mumbling a little, but Kakashi seemed to understand him anyway, if his sharp intake of breath was anything to go by.

With a soft sigh, Kohaku rested his head against Kakashi's shoulder. It was then that he noticed it; while Kakashi was still wearing his mask, he was dressed for bed. He wasn't even wearing his headband to cover his eye.

"What time is it?" Kohaku asked hoarsely, raising his head very carefully. It wasn't just his throat that hurt; even his spine was sore and aching.

"Sometime after three, I think." Kakashi replied softly, resting his face against Kohaku's fluffy hair.

"I'm sorry I woke you up." Kohaku said softly, not realizing the absurdity of his apology. "You should go back to bed. I'll be alright now."

"You're crazy if you think I'll be able to sleep after almost losing one of my closest friends." Kakashi whispered, pulling away just enough to meet Kohaku's eyes. "I'm not leaving you alone after that, and you certainly don't have to apologize for it."

Oddly enough, Kakashi's words made Kohaku's heart feel...warm and fuzzy. No one had really displayed such concern over him, and it was a nice feeling to know that someone genuinely cared.

"I don't think I'll be able to sleep, either." Kohaku smiled, but his voice shook ever so slightly. He supposed this was just another reason to be afraid of the dark, and wasn't quite sure how to work through it. "Do you want some tea?"

Kakashi frowned. "I'll make it. You need to rest." He reluctantly let go of Kohaku, one hand resting on his shoulder. He got up and went to make the tea, but stopped before he'd taken more than a few steps.

"What is it?" Kohaku asked softly, silently asking himself when he'd become so comfortable speaking to Kakashi like this.

After a moment, Kakashi returned to Kohaku's side, slipping one arm under his knees, taking care not to put pressure on his leg wound, and slipping the other around his shoulders. He lifted him up as if he weighed nothing and carried him into the kitchen, setting him down on one of the chairs carefully. "Stay right there."

Kohaku relaxed a little more once Kakashi flicked the lights on. It was much brighter in the kitchen than it was in the living room, and it was a relief to be out of the dark.

He watched Kakashi as he began to make the tea, running his fingers through his tangled hair to smooth it out. It was a mess after the struggle, and it was difficult not to accidentally pull it so much that it hurt.

Kakashi glanced over at him and frowned a little. "Where's your brush?" He asked softly. A chuckle escaped his lips when Kohaku pulled a flower patterned brush from his pocket. He'd always noticed how nice Kohaku kept his hair, despite its wildness, and had briefly wondered how much work it took to maintain it.

Kohaku offered Kakashi a tentative smile, feeling his heart grow lighter when Kakashi chuckled. He tilted his head to the side, wincing a little at the pain in his neck, when Kakashi came over to him, pulling up a chair behind him and taking the brush.

For a few moments, Kakashi did nothing, making Kohaku wonder what he was up to. Then he felt Kakashi's hand on the back of his neck, and stiffened a little, still on high alert after his near-death experience.

"It's alright. I'm not going to hurt you." Kakashi promised as began slowly running the brush through Kohaku's tangled hair, supporting Kohaku's sore neck so that it wasn't pulled every which way with the brush strokes.

Kohaku relaxed after a moment and shut his eyes. Kakashi's touch was gentle, and Kohaku could not help but let his guard down again. He felt safe around Kakashi, and was extremely glad that he was here now.

Admittedly, it was strange having someone take care of him. Kohaku had been on his own all his life, and no one had ever been so gentle with him, not even his teachers. It was a nice change, however, though he knew it wouldn't last forever. After all, he was not the kind of person that could be loved.

Kakashi brushed his hair until the teapot began to whistle, and then got up and finished making the tea. "Here." He brought a cup over to him, making sure that Kohaku had a firm grip on his cup before letting go.

Kohaku took a sip and heaved a sigh of relief as the hot tea soothed his throat. "Thank you." He watched as Kakashi grabbed his own cup and went to sit next to him.

Kakashi just nodded, watching Kohaku closely. His gaze shifted towards Kohaku's neck, his expression growing angry at the sight of the bruises that were starting to form. They were bad now, but would look so much worse in the morning.

"I'm alright." Kohaku said softly, noticing his gaze. Then he frowned a little as the rest of his aches and pains returned. "Just sore." He took a sip of his tea, sighing in relief. "Will you help me check this wound?" He gestured towards the one below his ribcage, frowning a little.

It was the worst of his wounds, and while the pain seemed no more intense than usual, he wanted to make sure that it hadn't reopened in the struggle. The masked man had managed to pin him pretty well.

"Sure." Kakashi replied, setting his cup down and scooting closer, and waiting for Kohaku to undo the sash and shift his haori aside so that he could look at the bandages.

A sigh of relief escaped his lips when he saw no fresh blood on the bandages. He patted Kohaku's shoulder and leaned back. His eyes were drawn to a thin scar that began somewhere in the bandages, and went down towards his hip. "You're fine. No fresh blood."

Kohaku nodded slightly, finishing the rest of his tea before he tied his sash again. Though he tried to hide it, he couldn't help but yawn very obviously, leaning back in his chair a little.

"You should get some rest." Kakashi said, setting his cup down and getting up. He went over and lifted Kohaku into his arms again gently, and took him back out into the living room, but didn't stop there. Instead, he took Kohaku down the hall to his own room, and gently set him down.

"I can't sleep in here. It's your space." Kohaku protested weakly, hardly putting up a fight when Kakashi pulled the blankets up over him.

"Yes, you can. I don't mind." Kakashi insisted, patting his head, and then ruffling his hair gently.

Kohaku frowned a little, reaching out quickly and grabbing Kakashi's hand. Using just the right amount of force, he jerked Kakashi down onto the bed with him. "Then you stay as well."

Kakashi, startled by Kohaku's sudden actions, hesitated. But when he noticed the thinly veiled anxiety hiding behind Kohaku's eyes, he gave up without a fight. "Alright." He sighed and slid under the covers with him.

Soothed by his presence, Kohaku shut his eyes, trying not to be obvious as he shifted closer to him. He was always cold, and tended to be attracted to warmer things, and Kakashi was warmer than he was.

And as Kohaku began to drift off to sleep, he couldn't help but wonder how he was going to tell Minato and Kakashi that Uchiha Obito, who was supposed to be dead, had just tried to murder him.


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter Fifteen

Kohaku slowly made his way back to the hospital for a check up, adjusting the scarf around his neck. He had been wearing it to hide the bruises around his neck, not quite ready to explain what had happened.

He knew that he was finally going to have to tell Minato and Kakashi the truth, no matter how much he didn't want to talk about the darkest years of his life thus far. He just hoped that they wouldn't be angry at him for the silence he kept; not out of disloyalty to the village, but because he owed a debt that he could not repay in any other way.

His heart was heavy with a strange feeling; he wished he could go back to simpler times, and for the innocence he had lost to be returned to him. It was a ridiculous, futile wish, but one that he could not do away with. 'Desiderium' was the word that the previous owner of his tea shop had taught him; the only word to truly describe what he was feeling.

Something told him that he was only going to face more pain in the future, and while he was afraid, he could do nothing but move forward. He'd started out with nothing, and now he'd ended up with treasured friends and people that he considered family, even if they didn't feel the same. He'd gained something worth fighting for, more so than his original goal of turning himself into a formidable weapon.

This was why he was so afraid. Before, he had nothing of real value to lose, and so he couldn't really be hurt in a way that actually mattered. Now that was different, as much as he wanted to deny it.

He was afraid of being hurt, in more ways than one. He was afraid his friends would turn his back on him once he told them the entire story, and he was afraid that even if that didn't happen, death would somehow take them from him.

Despite growing up with the knowledge that he had been abandoned because he had not been wanted and overcoming that pain, he was afraid that everyone he loved would one day do the same. It was only logical, after all. If his parents could abandon an infant that had done no wrong, then it wouldn't be a stretch that his friends might one day abandon him for the truth that he had delayed in telling.

Kohaku could not help but wish that he had never formed these bonds for a moment. If he hadn't, then his heart wouldn't be at risk, and when everyone turned their backs on him, he would survive just fine.

As he pushed the hospital door open and made his way down the hall to the room he'd been told to report to, Kohaku couldn't help but sigh. This really was all too complicated.

"Tenko Kohaku?" A tall woman spoke when he entered, glancing up with silvery eyes. She looked only about five or six years older than him, but the look in her eyes gave the impression of someone who had seen more life than people twice her age.

Kohaku gave a slight nod and went to sit down when she gestured for him to do so. He was wary of her, not because she was suspicious or anything of the sort, but because medic nin were far more dangerous than the average shinobi, considering their skills. Not to mention the fact that she was scrutinizing him in a particularly strange manner.

"I'm Niizuma Tamayo, but you can just call me Tama." She spoke again finally, staring particularly hard at his face. "I'd started to believe that the Kanemaru had gone into complete seclusion and forsaken their bond with the Niizuma."

"I am not a Kanemaru." Kohaku said with certainty, tilting his head to the left. He had to admit that he was feeling rather uncomfortable around this particular medic nin. She was spouting things that made no sense to him.

"Lying won't deceive me. I may have only been to the Kanemaru compound once when I was young, but there is no way that I wouldn't recognize your unique chakra." Tamayo pushed her glasses up with one finger and leaned closer. "Let me see that eye of yours."

Kohaku hesitated before slowly leaning forward to allow her to check the way his eye was healing, wondering what she meant by unique chakra. No one had mentioned his chakra being strange, so why was she acting as if it was different? Unable to hide his curiosity, he spoke up, "what do you mean about unique chakra?"

It was then that Tamayo seemed to realize that something was strange. Her eyes widened with realization. "You don't know. That's why you're using 'Tenko…'"

Kohaku was growing nervous. Tamayo was strange, and she was eyeing him in a strange, almost reverent way.

"Do you know what a tenko is? It's a fox spirit that's gained its ninth tail. A fox spirit that has turned golden and ascended the heavens." Tamayo spoke softly. "Whoever gave you your name was clever."

Kohaku refused to react or respond, simply letting her check over his healing injuries. Once she was done, he wasted no time in backing out of the room, refusing to respond even when she called him back.

In his haste to get as far away from the hospital as he could, he wasn't paying attention to where he was going, and bumped right into someone. He stumbled backwards and fell on his rear, his injured leg giving out for a moment.

"Whoa, what's the rush, Tenko?" Hisahito's kind voice came from above.

Kohaku glanced up at Hisahito, meeting his gentle green eyes and sighed. "Hisahito-sensei...can I ask for your advice?" His voice was soft and hesitant as he painfully got to his feet, taking care to shift his weight onto his uninjured leg.

Hisahito was stunned; this was the first time that Kohaku had spoken to him. He had thought that his student was mute. "Well, of course." He replied after a moment. "What's the matter?"

Remaining silent now, Kohaku gestured around him, hoping that Hisahito would understand that he didn't want to talk about it around other people. This was a sensitive topic, and it was beginning to weigh on him the more he thought about it.

Seeming to understand what his student wanted, Hisahito nodded and led Kohaku out of the crowd and towards a quieter area of the village. He took him to a small tea shop that Kohaku had regularly visited after his return, and picked out the table in the corner, away from the other customers.

"What's troubling you?" Hisahito asked after they had ordered their tea. He was relaxed, but there was concern in the depths of his green eyes.

"Hisahito-sensei…" Kohaku wasn't quite certain how to begin and how much to say, especially since he hadn't yet said anything about it to Minato. "I am afraid. There is...something that I have not spoken about, but should have when I first returned home. And now...after recent events, I...I have no choice but to say something."

Hisahito frowned, tilting his head. He couldn't give much advice with such little information, but he sensed Kohaku's reluctance to speak about it. "Why have you not said anything about it? Is it just because you're afraid of how someone will react?"

Kohaku paused, staying silent until the waiter brought their tea out and left again. "I have kept silent because I owe a debt, and that is the only way I could repay it at the time, since the alternative was something that I would never do. It's not out of disloyalty to the village, but...I am afraid that it will be seen that way. I am...afraid that I will lose the few people that I hold dear to me for remaining silent."

Hisahito had not expected Kohaku's problem to be quite so serious. He understood the desire to repay a debt, but if it put the village in danger, then it was a debt that should not be repaid. He knew how loyal to the village Kohaku was, and he could not help but wonder what would make him keep silent about something that could potentially affect the village. "What debt do you owe?" He asked, although he had a feeling that he knew the answer.

"My life." Kohaku stared down at his tea for a moment before slowly taking a sip. "I owe him my life and my sanity." He was trying to stay vague, so as not to give too much away before he told Minato everything. "He wanted me to stay and help him with something he was planning. When I found out what it was, I...I couldn't stay. I left, but...I still owed him for saving my life."

"Kohaku…" A soft sigh escaped Hisahito's lips. "You need to tell Yondaime-sama about this immediately. The full truth. Everything that you're not telling me. He's kind, so as long as you've done nothing to actively harm the village, I'm sure he'll be understanding, especially considering what you did to bring his son home. But you can't let this go on any longer."

It was true, and Kohaku knew it. He was just not prepared for the fallout that would come with it. But it was his own fault for keeping this secret for so long, and the consequences of that would be his burden to bear alone.

Hisahito reached out and took Kohaku's hands in his own, offering him a gentle smile. "Everything will work out in the end. No matter how rough it gets, you'll be okay. Remember that I have your back, okay? Whatever happens, I'm here for you, and so is Hisayo."

Kohaku nodded slightly, finally looking up at Hisahito and smiling just slightly. "Thank you."

"You don't have to thank me." Hisahito paused for a moment, letting go of Kohaku's hands to take a sip of his tea. "Out of all the students Hisayo and I have had, you and Genma have been the ones to make us the most proud."

Those words were enough to make Kohaku freeze. They were proud of him? He had never expected to hear those words from anyone, but...he was happy. It was words like those that he'd always wanted to hear for himself. Everyone around him had been met with that love and support, and it made him happy to finally receive that support.

"Y'know, Kohaku, you remind me of someone. Perhaps that's why I've always been so soft on you." Hisahito sighed and shut his eyes for a moment. "Did you know Hisayo and I had an older brother? Hisayo doesn't like to talk to him, and he died long before we started taking on students of our own, so I can't imagine you've heard much. Although, I suppose 'died' would be the mild way to put it."

Kohaku tilted his head and frowned. He never really knew what to say when people told him things like this. He worried that anything he said would fall flat.

"Our parents died when we were very little, and Hisashi took care of us so that we weren't separated. He was quiet and dedicated, and he tried to protect everyone around him, even at the cost of himself. He went through hell and back for us, and for people he didn't know, because that was who he was." Hisahito smiled faintly, soft and sad. "You're very much the same as he was. You've gone through hell, and yet you've never let that turn you bitter. You protect everyone around you, no matter how they treat you. You sacrificed yourself so that Kakashi could live to bring back the cure that saved many shinobi and civilians." Hisahito paused briefly and watched Kohaku, who was looking down at his tea as he listened.

"Kohaku, I don't want you to end up like he did. You don't have to take on everything yourself. So let loose a little. Rely on us when you're feeling down." Hisahito reached out and ruffled Kohaku's hair. "Talk a little more. You have a nice voice. And...perhaps learn to confide a little in your friend, Kakashi. I've noticed how much he hangs around you, and how much happier he is now that you're back home. I think he blames himself for not being able to save you when you needed help the most."

"But it's not his fault. He couldn't have helped me. He didn't know that I was still alive, or what I was going through." Kohaku said quietly, finally glancing up at him. "There was nothing he could have done."

"I know that, and he knows that, but that doesn't mean that he doesn't feel guilty for it. For a long time, I felt guilty about my brother's death, even though there wasn't anything I could do. And you...you lost your summon, and I know how much you blame yourself for that. It was written on your face when I came to help you clean your apartment. We all feel guilty for things we can't help; it's human nature."

"Then what do I do? I don't want him to feel that way for something that he couldn't help. I don't want him to be sad or afraid or guilty because of me." Bringing the cup up to his lips, Kohaku took another sip of his tea, hoping it would bring him the answers he wanted.

"Be honest with him. You've been so distant with everyone, even more so than you were before, and we worry about you. You've hardly said a word about what you went through, and...it might help him to know that you're still you after all you've suffered and gone through." Hisahito paused for a moment. "It helps to talk, and it might help you as well as him."

Kohaku contemplated his words, a feeling of dread deep in the pit of his stomach accompanying the soft sigh that escaped his lips. He wondered if he was right. He trusted Hisahito's advice, and wanted to believe that he was right.

"Take a chance, Kohaku. You never learn or grow if you don't take risks." Hisahito said gently before calling the waiter back over for their bill.

Kohaku watched Hisahito in silence, his heart somehow feeling lighter than it had in a long time. "Thank you, Hisahito-sensei." He paused for a moment, searching for the right words. "In a world that had done nothing but teach me cruelty and coldness, you taught me kindness and warmth. You are the first person who ever saw past the walls I built up to protect myself, and offered me a kind hand. Thank you."

He stood up and paid for their tea before Hisahito could. WIthout another word, he turned and made his way out of the tea shop, taking care not to strain his injured leg too much.

Hisahito was right; it was time that he came to terms with his demons, and talked about what he had experienced all those years ago. It was time that he stopped hiding behind a silence that was all too easy to keep.

And so, Kohaku went on his way to find Kakashi, having completely forgotten the strange way the medic nin had acted around him.


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter Sixteen

Kohaku slowly limped around the village, not quite ready to go back to Kakashi's apartment yet. He was trying to figure out what he could do to repay him for saving his life. A debt like that was difficult to pay, and he knew it very well.

Except in this case, he was certain that Kakashi could bring nothing but good into his life, unlike the man who had become his mentor after bringing him back from the brink of death and insanity. He knew, deep down in his fragile heart, that Kakashi would never manipulate him or expect him to turn against his village for some nightmarish plot that he thought would fix all the tragedy and problems in the world. He knew and trusted Kakashi.

Lost in thoughts of what to do for Kakashi, Kohaku didn't notice until it was too late, an older man, somewhere in his forties, swerve towards him. They collided, and Kohaku stumbled backwards, glancing up to see what had happened.

The older man put a hand on Kohaku's shoulder to steady him, a predatory smile on his face, sharp teeth yellowed and filed into vicious points. "Sorry about that. I didn't see you there." He pushed his glasses up farther on his face.

Kohaku stared at the man, absolutely certain that he had never met him before, and yet absolutely certain that he had somehow seen that yellowed, sharp fanged smile somewhere before, the sight sending a jolt of terror through his heart. "...it's fine."

"Ah, my, my, such a fox-like face." The man commented, and Kohaku got the feeling that he was in on some sort of joke. "What's your name, little fox? Mine is Senga Matabei."

"...Tenko Kohaku." He replied with some reluctance. Kohaku did not trust this man, and every fiber of his being wanted to flee.

Matabei laughed and leaned closer. "My, how fitting. I wonder how you'll ascend the heavens, Tenko-chan."

Kohaku turned away slowly. "Goodbye." He could not stay there any longer, fighting against the chill that ran down his spine.

"Until we meet again, golden fox." Matabei whispered, his voice carrying on the wind, giving the impression of a bad omen.

Unable to shake off the uncomfortable feeling that Matabei had given him, Kohaku quickly hurried away, making a beeline for Kakashi's apartment. A thank you gift could wait for now.

Very few things had ever made Kohaku feel that way. Actually, only one thing had ever made him feel that sort of fear, and he was certain that he had left it far behind. It was just a coincidence and Matabei was just a creepy guy that he'd had the misfortune of bumping into.

By the time that Kohaku made it back to Kakashi's apartment, he had thoroughly convinced himself that he had just run into some creep that was really good at making people uncomfortable.

Kohaku quietly let himself into Kakashi's apartment, locking the door behind him for safe measure. He glanced around, glad to see Kakashi reading an orange book at the table.

He tilted his head as he examined the title before Kakashi vanished it away. "I didn't realize you read that sort of book." He said quietly, going over to his box of things that he'd left by the couch. He dug around in the box for a moment before retrieving a book and bringing it over to Kakashi. "Someone gave this to me, but it's not quite my sort of book."

Kakashi stared at the cover, somewhat startled to find that it was another book in the series he had been reading recently, Icha Icha Paradise. He took the book hesitantly and glanced up at Kohaku.

"You can have it." Kohaku said simply, passing the book over and going back over to his box. He retrieved a set of fox pajamas that Hisayo had gifted him and went into the bathroom to change.

He came back after several moments, fear chilling his heart a little. He wasn't sure if he was ready to talk about what had happened to him all those years ago, but...he was going to have to eventually, whether he spoke about it to Kakashi first or Minato first.

Perhaps if he spoke about it with Kakashi first, then he wouldn't show so much vulnerability in front of Minato and whoever else ended up being present when he finally told the truth.

"Kakashi…" Kohaku sat down on the couch and avoided looking at him. "I'm...ready to tell you about what happened to me, what happened after I went over the edge of the cliff." His voice was soft, carrying the faintest tremor.

For a moment, Kakashi didn't say a word. "Are you sure?" He asked finally, staring at Kohaku with hesitance and something that he was beginning to recognize as guilt.

"Yes." Kohaku replied without hesitation. "I'm going to have to speak of it eventually, and...I'd rather it be you to see my vulnerability than anyone else. I trust you will treat me gently." His gaze shifted up to meet Kakashi's gaze for a moment before he glanced away again, a soft sigh escaping his lips. "You saved my life, and...for that, I don't mind laying my soul bare to you. I...I entrust to you my heart, my soul, and my life."

Kohaku meant every word of it, although he wasn't aware of the other connotations his words could have. He didn't catch the way Kakashi's cheeks went red just above his mask, or the way his one visible eye widened with shock. He was unable to meet Kakashi's eye, wondering why his cheeks were burning all of a sudden.

Several moments passed in silence before Kakashi finally got up and made his way over to Kohaku, sitting down next to him. As he watched the quiet shinobi, he couldn't help but think that even though his pajamas were rather silly, he was sort of cute.

Tilting his head ever so slightly, Kohaku snuck a glance at Kakashi, struggling to find the words to begin his story. It was complicated, and he was just a little scared that Kakashi would turn against him when it came to a certain point.

"You don't have to talk about it." Kakashi reminded him quietly, absentmindedly patting Kohaku's head. At this point, it was almost second nature to just pat his head; Kohaku seemed to like it, and his hair was soft and downy, like the feathers on a baby duck.

"No, I think I do." Kohaku said, leaning into his touch. "I can't let my past control me anymore." He shut his eyes for a moment. "I want you to know that you're not responsible for what happened to me. There was nothing you could have done to change things, so...I don't want you to feel guilty."

"...There's a lot I could have done for you." Kakashi said softly. "I could have gone after you. I could have come back for you."

"You're wrong." Kohaku said simply. "It was my decision, and I made it so that you could get away. It was a decision that I would make again, even now. For you, and for the lives that were saved because I gave you the chance to get back home. You could not have stopped me."

Kakashi frowned, staring at Kohaku for a moment before hesitantly pulling him into a hug. "You've changed more than I thought. I'm glad you're alright." He said softly, though his actions said more than his words, his arms wrapped around Kohaku so tightly, as if he were afraid he would disappear again if he let go.

"I'm still the same as I was then, but maybe...I'm a little more broken than I was before." Kohaku opened his eyes and reached up with one hand to pat Kakashi's head reassuringly.

"That's not true." Kakashi replied softly, pulling away after a moment, but keeping one arm around Kohaku. "You're...warmer." He tilted his head, wondering if perhaps Kohaku had always been all these things, and he was just noticing now.

Kohaku shook his head a little, but couldn't help but smile a little. "We're getting off topic." He pointed out, feeling rather embarrassed about the direction this conversation was going in.

"I suppose you're right." A soft sigh escaped Kakashi's lips. "Sorry."

A frown crossed Kohaku's face, but he shook his head. "You don't have to apologize." He said quietly, glancing down at his lap as he tried to figure out how to begin his story in a way that made sense.

Kakashi just watched him in silence, running his fingers through Kohaku's soft hair absentmindedly. Concern surfaced briefly from the depths of his dark grey eye, but quickly vanished as Kohaku began to speak.

"I don't really know how long I spent down in those caves. I'd guess it was somewhere around a year or so, but I didn't really sleep and most of the time there was no light." Kohaku sighed, shifting nervously. "I only survived the fall because the shinobi I took down with me broke my fall."

Unconsciously, Kohaku scratched at the long scar along his arm. It was a nervous habit that he had picked up in the rare moments that he had time to rest while he was in the caves, knowing that he shouldn't pick at the wound, and yet unable to stop. It had taken much longer to heal than normal, having become infected from a lack of proper medical treatment.

"Kohaku?" Kakashi gently took Kohaku's hand in his own to keep him from scratching.

"Sorry." Kohaku relaxed and let out a sigh. "At first, I was alone the entire time, trying to find my way out. And then something began to follow me. I don't really know what it was; all I ever saw were its claws and fangs in the few spots of light I managed to find. Every time I managed to slip away, it would find me hours later. I started to think I was going crazy, and sometimes I still think I am, that I was hallucinating it because I hadn't slept in so long, but…"

"But?" There was a strange hesitance in Kakashi's voice, as if he was afraid of the answer that Kohaku would give him.

"There was one time that I was too slow." Kohaku shifted around so that his back was facing Kakashi, and lifted up his fox-print shirt to show him to scars, pulling his long hair over his shoulder.

Four jagged scars began at his left shoulder, and went all the way down to his lower back, stopping at the base of his spine. Most of the time they were hidden by his haori, which he had added to his wardrobe for that very reason. He got enough stares with the scar on his face, and he didn't really want anyone looking at these ones as well.

He was used to people staring at him, but that didn't mean that he liked it. It was especially bad when they stared at his scars. He could see the questions swimming in their eyes and the way that people gave him a wide berth on the streets of unfamiliar villages.

Kohaku stiffened when he felt Kakashi's fingertips on his shoulder, where his scars began, tracing each of the jagged scars ever so gently. After a moment, he relaxed and shut his eyes. He felt safe, and was certain that Kakashi would never harm him.

"Kohaku…" Kakashi seemed at a loss for words as he pulled his hand away to allow Kohaku to pull his shirt back down.

Slowly, Kohaku shifted around, tilting his head. "It's not your fault." He said softly, frowning at Kakashi.

After a moment, he shifted closer to Kakashi again, shivering not from the cold, but from the thought of those glistening fangs and claws. He glanced down at his lap, wondering how much more he could say before he triggered a panic attack. He hadn't even spoken the worst of it yet.

"Kakashi...can I admit something?" He asked finally, trying to give Kakashi at least a little space, instead of snuggling against him like he wanted to, craving another hug.

"Of course." Kakashi replied, resting his hand on Kohaku's shoulder gently.

"For years, I have felt as if I am lost at sea in the middle of a storm, the waves trying to drag me deep below the sea, everything too loud and everything beneath my feet unstable." Kohaku paused for a moment, carefully choosing his words. "But with you, everything is calm and quiet. You have made me feel safer than I ever have in my life, and...I cannot help but want to repay you somehow."

Kohaku paused again, staying quiet as Kakashi pulled him into another hug. He'd convinced himself for so long that no one could ever or would ever love him because he was so strange. He'd convinced himself that he would spend the entirety of his life alone in the shadows because he was unwanted, but now...he was beginning to wonder if there was another path open to him.

"I'm sorry." Kohaku said after a moment. "That was a strange thing to say, and I'm off topic." He let out a heavy sigh, continuing before Kakashi could speak, "it was after the beast caught me that I was saved. I know I'm going to sound crazy when I tell you who saved me, but it's the truth. I couldn't make it up if I wanted to, and I still don't know why he would save me. There was no real part I could play in his plan, as far as I know."

"Who was it?" Kakashi asked, narrowing his eye as he watched Kohaku. The feeling he got from the words that his friend spoke was bad.

"...Uchiha Madara."


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter Seventeen

"Kohaku. I think he would be dead by now." The confusion in Kakashi's voice was clear, and Kohaku really couldn't blame him for it. After all, he _did_ have a point.

"Yes, well, I'm very much certain that he's dead now. The man who attacked me the other night proves that." Kohaku heaved a sigh, rubbing at his badly bruised throat. "He did a good job hiding his chakra signature from us the few times we came up against him before, but...something caught him off guard that night, and he let it slip just enough for me to recognize it before I...lost consciousness."

"Who was it?" Kakashi asked, pulling Kohaku's hand away from his throat, not wanting him to aggravate the injury.

"...he should also be dead." Kohaku heaved another sigh and shut his eyes. "Minato-sensei needs to be present when I say who it is, as it also concerns him."

Kohaku could see Kakashi frowning beneath, and wished he could just spit it out. But he knew it would be better if he told him when Minato was there as well.

"Anyway, Madara took me in. For the first few months, I was in no state to be functioning, and I hardly left the corner I had wedged myself into." It was a difficult thing for Kohaku to admit. He hated that he had been so weak, and that he had let something like that get to him in such a way.

"And what happened next?"

"After I had recovered enough to focus on something other than survival, Madara began to teach me things. I...learned how to turn my fear into a weapon, and many other things." Kohaku frowned and glanced down at his lap. "I stayed with him for about a year and half before he finally told me what his plan was, and what he could give me in exchange for my help."

"What was he going to give you?" Kakashi asked hesitantly, taking note of the way that Kohaku looked away to hide his expression.

"He told me he could give me my family back." Kohaku replied quietly, frowning. "It wasn't a compelling offer. My family never wanted me in the first place, otherwise, I wouldn't have been dropped off on a doorstep."

Kakashi was surprised to hear the resentment in Kohaku's voice; he'd never thought that he would feel that way about this, as he'd always been so silent in whatever he had been suffering. Then again, he knew very little about what Kohaku had gone through before they met. He'd never asked, and Kohaku had never offered the information up.

"I told him I'd think about his offer, and then I snuck out when he went to sleep and disappeared." Kohaku sighed and leaned into Kakashi. "I was picked up by the previous owner of that tea shop, and he passed it off to me after a few years, and went into retirement. I sent a letter to Minato-sensei the moment that I was settled in at the tea shop. He...thought it would be good if I could use my status, being legally dead and all, to gather information."

Kohaku shut his eyes and hugged Kakashi without thinking about it. He was mentally exhausted after talking so much, especially about things that had happened to him.

"I owe you an apology." Kohaku mumbled, keeping his eyes shut so that he didn't have to see Kakashi's expression. "I should have sent you a letter to tell you I was alright. I'm sorry for the hurt that I've caused you."

"Hey." Kakashi frowned, tilting Kohaku's chin up to look at him, careful not to cause any pain to his sore neck. "Open your eyes. Look at me." He waited until Kohaku complied, studying his mismatched eyes, before continuing. "I'm just glad you're safe, and that you're here with me. I...have lost a lot of people, so I'm just glad that I didn't lose you completely."

Kohaku studied Kakashi closely, frowning just a little. He looked like he wanted to say something more, but Kohaku didn't press him to speak his mind. He'd never been one to make someone talk when they hesitated, or didn't want to.

"Just...promise me you'll be careful. Don't take unnecessary risks. You don't have to protect me." Kakashi watched him with a frown, his hands on Kohaku's cheeks gently. His gaze shifted to the scar on Kohaku's cheek and his frown grew worse. "I don't want you getting hurt protecting me again."

"Kakashi, I'll always try to protect you if I can." Kohaku reached up and placed his hands over Kakashi's gently, offering him a small smile. "You are one of the few people I have in this world, and I will stop at nothing to make sure you are safe and happy."

"Kohaku! I'm serious." Kakashi almost sounded angry. "I don't want to lose you a second time. Please, just be careful."

"I'm always careful, Kakashi. You won't lose me." A sad, sort of broken smile crossed Kohaku's face for just a second. "I'm rather difficult to kill, so I'll always be here for you. I promise you that."

Kakashi frowned, seeming to realize that there was nothing he could say to convince Kohaku to be more careful. It seemed that he would just have to keep a closer eye on him, if he wasn't going to properly take care of himself. With a soft sigh, he pulled Kohaku closer again, resting his chin on Kohaku's head for a moment.

"Will you brush my hair again?" Kohaku asked hesitantly. "I like it when you brush my hair. It feels nice."

"Sure. Where's your brush?" Kakashi asked softly, unable to keep from smiling a little beneath his mask at Kohaku's request.

"Bathroom." Kohaku replied, curling up on the couch when Kakashi got up to go retrieve it. He watched him with half-closed eyes, gaze never leaving him until he rounded the corner into the bathroom.

Kohaku let out a soft sigh. He couldn't remember the last time he had been so relaxed, and it was nice. He was comfortable here, especially with Kakashi close.

He wasn't sure what, if anything, had suddenly changed between him and Kakashi, but he found that more and more often, he was wanting to see him, or be close to him. There was a strange feeling that he got whenever Kakashi came close; it wasn't a bad feeling, but it was something that he had never quite experienced before.

Glancing up when Kakashi came back, Kohaku put the thought out of his mind. He sat up and shifted so that he was facing away from Kakashi.

Kakashi undid the tie that kept Kohaku's hair up and began to run the brush through his long hair. "Why is your hair so wild?" He couldn't help but laugh a little.

"I could ask the same thing of you. At least mine doesn't stick straight up." Kohaku teased, a touch of mischief sneaking into his voice. "It's always been like this. I just never had it this long before."

Kakashi snorted, his hands pausing for just a moment. "Are you teasing me?"

"Perhaps." Kohaku smiled a little, glancing back at him. "I do have a sense of humor. But don't worry. I like your hair a lot. It's...fluffy. Soft."

"I think your hair has mine beat in the fluffy department." Kakashi commented, continuing to try to wrangle Kohaku's wild hair. "I don't know how you manage to tie it all up every day. There's just...so much."

"It takes dedication." Kohaku paused for a moment, contemplating. "And creativity. I used to use elastic bands to tie my hair up, but they kept snapping, so I swapped over to ribbons and cloth ties. They work better."

Kakashi smiled a little, having not expected a real answer from him. "I see." He said softly, noticing the way Kohaku relaxed, the tension in his shoulders vanishing.

It was nice to relax like this, Kohaku decided, shutting his eyes. He hoped that he would be able to enjoy many more moments like this in the future.


	18. Chapter 18

Chapter Eighteen

The next day, Kohaku made his way around the village, sniffing out Hisayo, more literally than figuratively. Since Hisahito was taking his students on a field trip over the next few days and would be unavailable for him to talk to, he was seeking advice from Hisayo instead.

Hisayo was, without a doubt, a reliable kunoichi, honorable and brave to a fault, if a little nuts. Her advice, however, tended to turn out the same way that a toddler would write the fortune tucked neatly into a fortune cookie; well meaning, but absolutely baffling in the strangest of ways.

He had, of course, thought of going to Minato or Kushina for advice, but...he was dreading even speaking to Minato, because he knew what he would have to tell him. It was his plan to speak with Minato after he had spoken with Hisayo, and he would procrastinate no more after that.

Oddly enough, Kohaku found Hisayo inside an animal shelter, peering into the cages with a quizzical expression. Tilting his head, he made his way into the animal shelter and cleared his throat.

"Hisayo-sensei." He spoke just loud enough to jolt her out of her deep thoughts.

Hisayo spun around, her green eyes widening in shock. "Fucking hell. I must be high as fuck right now."

Kohaku tilted his head to the side slightly, frowning. "Hisayo-sensei...I don't think you're high...unless you've recently picked up a new habit?" He raised an eyebrow, his expression innocent.

"I haven't, but you're talking, and you've never talked before, so logically that means I'm high or losing my mind." Hisayo reached out and poked his cheek, as if testing if he were really there or not.

"I have talked before. I had a conversation with Hisahito-sensei just yesterday." Kohaku reached out and poked her cheek in response to her doing the same. "I wanted to talk to you about something. But first...why are you here?"

"Ah, well…" Hisayo frowned, glancing away after a moment. "I'm actually here for you. I...wanted to find you something as a homecoming gift. I've been having a hard time with it, so I thought I would think outside the box of a normal sort of gift…"

Kohaku couldn't help but smile, reaching out and pulling her into a hug. The action seemed to startle her further, but she just wrapped her arms tightly around him. "You don't have to get me a gift for coming home. Being able to see you, Hisahito-sensei, Kakashi, and Minato-sensei again have been enough of a gift, and I couldn't ask for anything more."

"Where the hell did you learn to be so sweet?!" Hisayo tightened her arms around him, a huff escaping her lips. "You certainly didn't learn it from me…"

"Don't sell yourself so short." Kohaku chided gently, letting her go after a moment. "You taught me many things that no one else could. You taught me that it's okay to rely on someone other than myself. You...taught me, with your own lack of care of what people thought of you, that there would always be someone who would like me for who I am. You and I are more alike than I think you would like to admit; both of us are black sheep."

"...are you calling me unlikable?" Hisayo placed her hands on her hip and glared at him, as if she had missed the entire point.

"Hisayo-sensei, that wasn't my point…" Kohaku sighed, frowning a little now. But a moment later, he relaxed as a mischievous smile crossed her face.

"I know, I know." Hisayo smiled at him and ruffled his messy hair. "You really are something, though, y'know? Never thought you would become so soft and squishy on the inside."

Kohaku frowned again. "But aren't we all soft and squishy on the inside?" He tilted his head, not quite realizing that she wasn't speaking literally.

Hisayo stared at him for a moment before absolutely losing it. A howl of laughter escaped her lips, not unlike that of a hyena. She hunched over, laughing so hard that she could barely breathe.

"Did I...say something funny?" Dense as ever, he tilted his head to the other side, and Hisayo could almost picture a pair of large fox ears atop his head, quirked in a questioning manner.

It took Hisayo a moment to calm down enough to actually respond to him, her laughter turning into hysterical giggles for a few moments. "No, not at all. I just never really realized how cute you actually are. I bet if you opened up a little more, you'd be able to get any girl you wanted."

"I'm not attracted to girls." Kohaku said bluntly, crouching down to look at a tiny kitten with fluffy white fur and beautiful blue eyes.

"Well, I can't say that I'm surprised, but man are you blunt as hell." Hisayo patted his head and smiled. "Actually, I am surprised, but not for the reason you're probably thinking." She paused to ponder her words. "I just never thought you'd be comfortable enough around people to realize that sort of thing. You've always been so guarded; so unwilling to let anyone in."

Kohaku glanced up at Hisayo and frowned. "I have my reasons for being unwilling to let people close to me." He stood up and went to look at the animals playing in one of the playpens just a few feet away.

"So what's changed now?" Hisayo raised an eyebrow as Kohaku stuck his hand into the playpen, petting one of the puppies that had come up to sniff at his hand.

"I grew up with no one to rely on. Alone, humiliated, and unloved. I learned that I could only rely on myself, and that in the end, everyone I tried to trust would turn their backs on me." Kohaku frowned a little. "But I learned just recently that there are some people in this world that I can trust, and that...I don't have to do everything on my own."

Hisayo patted his head gently, frowning a little. "You've never been alone, and you never will be. Hisahito and I are always here for you."

"I know that now, Hisayo-sensei." Kohaku gently pet the sand-colored puppy, gently stroking his oversized ears. "Which is why I wanted to ask you for your advice. I know you'll never lead me astray."

"Ah, well…" Hisayo was not used to anyone other than her brother putting blind faith in her, but she felt honored all the same. "What can I help you with?"

"I think there's someone that I like...in a romantic way." Kohaku's face burned with embarrassment as he busied himself with another puppy in the playpen that had come to investigate his hand.

"Oho, and who would that be?" Hisayo smiled as she came to sit next to him, dipping her hand into the playpen as well to pet the remaining puppies.

"I'm not naming anyone." Kohaku replied firmly, not liking the mischievous tone of her voice. "I don't know anything about romantic relationships, though, or how to even start one. I don't know if this person even feels the same way. I'm not good at reading people."

"So you came to me for help? I've never been in a real romantic relationship either. But here's the deal; I'll snag some of Hisahito's books on this particular subject, and we can figure out what you should do together." Hisayo offered, ruffling his hair.

Kohaku tilted his head slightly. "Hisahito-sensei has books about love?" He would never have expected that of him; Hisahito always made sure that the people closest to him knew that he loved him, so he had always thought that that sort of thing came naturally to him.

"Yeah! They're self-help books, I think, but I don't really know why he would need one of those." Hisayo tilted her head, a thoughtful look on her face. "Pick out an animal, and then we'll raid Hisahito's apartment."

A frown crossed Kohaku's face for just a moment. "You don't need to get me an animal…" He protested. "Besides, it's really not safe enough around me for an animal…" A shiver went down his spine when he remembered what had happened to his summon.

"Come on, brat, just pick one. Most of these animals are bred for shinobi work, so you shouldn't worry so much." Hisayo nudged him gently. "They'll be fine, as long as you train them well."

Kohaku let out a heavy sigh, standing up to look around a little more. "I like that one." He pointed towards a pretty tan and white Akita puppy in a cage towards the back. The puppy had its head tilted, tongue lolling as it absentmindedly gnawed at the bars of its cage.

Hisayo stood up and raised an eyebrow. "You want the one stupid one in this place?" She sighed and shook her head.

"She's not stupid. She's cute." Kohaku was already making his way over to the cage to get a better look, a soft smile appearing on his usually deadpan face. He crouched down and reached his hand out to the puppy, relieved when the little animal licked his hand sloppily. "I want this one."

"Fine, fine." Hisayo was just glad that he had come around and accepted her gift. She went over to one of the employees and went through the paperwork so that Kohaku wouldn't have to deal with it.

A few moments later, Hisayo came back over with the employee, having Kohaku step back so that the cage could be unlocked. The employee fastened a pink collar around the puppy's neck carefully and attached a leash, handing it over to Kohaku.

"Her name is Nozomu. She's kind of a troublemaker, so watch out." The employee warned. "But she comes from a long line of reliable ninken, so it shouldn't be hard to train her. She's started showing a few signs of learning human speech, as well."

"Nozomu…" Kohaku decided that this was a good decision. After all, it could only be a good sign that he had been attracted to a little dog named 'hope.' "I hope you'll grow to like me, Nozomu."

In response to his words, the little puppy flung herself at him, covering his face with slobbery kisses. Her tail wagged like crazy and she made quiet noises of happiness.

Kohaku lifted her into his arms gently, deciding that the puppy would never leave his side. He wouldn't let her get hurt, too.

"Are you ready to go?" Hisayo asked after a moment, smiling in a surprisingly soft way. "We want to get in and out of my brother's apartment before he comes back and suspects anything."

With a nod, Kohaku stood up with Nozomu in his arms. "Let's go." He replied, following her out when she made her way to the exit, carrying the adoption papers in one hand.

"Hisahito has a lot of traps in place, so we'll have to come up with a plan to get in without setting them off." Hisayo said, thinking about how to get in and out without alerting her brother that there had been two intruders in his apartment while he was gone.

Kohaku stared at Hisayo, frowning a little. "You have a key to his apartment, right?" He asked, tilting his head. When Hisayo glanced back and nodded, he sighed. "Then why don't we just go through the front door? If you've got the key, then I doubt his traps will go off, unless he's rigged them to go off even when someone comes in with a key. That doesn't really make sense, since his traps would go off every time that he went home. It should be fine, right?"

Hisayo stared at him for a moment, looking rather startled that he had presented her with such a simple, and obvious, solution. "I guess that would work. Huh."

At times like this, Kohaku sometimes wondered how Hisayo had even become a shinobi in the first place. She never really thought things through all the way, and oftentimes came up with ridiculous plans for things that could be solved with simpler actions.

But in the end, Hisayo _was_ a dedicated and talented shinobi, even if she did often throw herself into the thick of things before thinking it through. She was a force to be reckoned with, and with Hisahito by her side, they were twin forces of destruction that couldn't be stopped.

"Then let's just do that…" Kohaku reached out with his free hand and patted Hisayo's head, ruffling her already messy hair.

Hisayo led the way to Hisahito's apartment, which happened to be right next to her own. She fished the key out of her pocket and unlocked Hisahito's apartment, stepping inside with Kohaku just behind her.

When Hisayo turned the light on, Kohaku looked around curiously. All down the halls, hanging on the walls, were photographs in a jumbled assortment of frames. Most of them were of Hisahito and Hisayo together, or them with someone who resembled them closely. There were a few other scattered pictures of the teams that the twins had previously led, including one of Team Three.

Kohaku was a little surprised to see that photograph, but more so to see how he had looked all those years ago. He had been so different then, and hadn't even had the scar down the left side of his face yet. He had been so young and oblivious to the real cruelty of the world compared to what he had already suffered, and for a moment, Kohaku wanted those days back.

As if sensing something was wrong, Nozomu whined in his arms, leaning up to lick his face affectionately.

"Thanks, Nozomu." Kohaku said quietly, and kissed the top of her head. He ignored Hisayo's questioning look as she led him down the hallway and into Hisahito's bedroom, which was exceedingly neat and organized.

"I think his stash should be somewhere around here." Hisayo said as she went over to the bookshelf, looking through each of the titles for the ones that she was looking for. "They've got some weird titles."

Kohaku nodded and began to help her search the enormous bookshelf. For the first few moments, it was a fruitless search, neither of them finding what they were looking for until they reached the very bottom of the shelf.

The titles were certainly not what Kohaku had been expecting when Hisayo told him they were self-help books on love. "Hisayo-sensei, are you sure these are self-help books?"

Hisayo paused for a moment, glancing at him. "Of course, they are. Just look at them!" She plucked one of the books from its spot on the shelf and showed it to Kohaku. "What about 'Rendezvous with the Leaf Shinobi's Husband' doesn't sound like a self-help book?"

Kohaku frowned and tilted his head. He had never really seen a self-help book before anyway, so perhaps he had just been expecting something different. "I suppose you're right. I was just expecting a self-help book to have a better title."

"Yeah, well, some people are better at writing the actual books than titling them." Hisayo said, grabbing another book from the shelf. "Hm...take this one, too."

Kohaku squinted at the title of the second book Hisayo gave him, 'Shadow-Clone Threesome.' "'And orgy you'll never forget…'" He read out the description on the back, frowning. "Hisayo-sensei...what's an orgy?"

The rest of the day was spent in awkward silence, as Hisayo was stunned beyond belief, and Kohaku did not learn that day what an 'orgy' was.


	19. Chapter 19

Chapter Nineteen

Three days after Kohaku told Kakashi of what he had gone through, he finally went to meet with Minato to tell him the truth, Nozomu padding along after him in a cheerful sort of way, opposite of Kohaku's heavy-hearted plodding. Kakashi was following along just behind the puppy, book in hand.

Sensing that Minato was alone in his office, Kohaku knocked once before stepping inside. It was impossible to hide the frown on his face when he stepped inside, his gaze shifting in every direction except Minato's.

"Ah, Kohaku, Kakashi. What's the matter?" Minato asked kindly, immediately noticing Kohaku's strange behavior. "Sit down and tell me what's on your mind."

Kohaku hesitated for a moment before sitting down in one of the chairs. He patted his lap, waiting until Nozomu hopped up before looking up at Minato.

And then he told his story, this time laying out every detail that he had left out when he'd spoken to Hisahito and Kakashi. All the details he had been given about Madara's plan, and about Obito and everything that he could remember, relevant or not. It was not easy for him to lay his soul bare in this way, but this was something he could no longer keep to himself.

"I don't know why Madara took me in. I don't have any particularly useful talents that he could use for his plan. It...would have been better for him if he had just killed me, but he didn't." Kohaku finished with a sigh.

It was definitely a lot for Minato to take in, and even Kakashi was struggling to come to terms with the fact that Obito was not, in fact, dead.

But the moment that Minato opened his mouth to speak, the door opened and someone else stepped inside. All three heads swiveled around to see who was interrupting.

Startlingly enough, it was Niizuma Tamayo, the doctor that had checked his injuries and seemed to have some strange belief that he was a member of the Kanemaru clan.

"I know why he wanted you." Tamayo said with a smile, shutting the door and going to sit between Kohaku and Kakashi. "Rather, needed you."

"Why are you here?" Kohaku's voice came out sharper than he had intended, and he frowned a little. As much as he didn't want to admit it, Tamayo had unsettled him with her belief that he was a Kanemaru.

Tamayo ignored his question, instead asking one of her own. "You're all familiar with the Kanemaru clan, I assume?" When they nodded, she kicked her feet up on Minato's desk and turned her gaze to Kohaku. "That one is a Kanemaru, though he denies it."

Kakashi glanced at Kohaku, noticing his uncharacteristic scowl. "How do you know this?" He asked, turning his attention back to her, while Minato watched with mild curiosity.

"My clan, the Niizuma, have always been very close with the Kanemaru clan. We are a clan of healers, and the only ones that the Kanemaru have ever trusted with their medical care." Tamayo began, pushing her glasses up with one finger. "When I was a child, my mother took me to their compound every time that she visited. I grew very familiar with the Kanemaru clan before they entered their period of isolation, and my mother passed down every bit of history to me so that I could take her place once I was ready."

"And what does this have to do with why Madara would want Kohaku's assistance?" Minato asked, narrowing his eyes.

"Because the Kanemaru clan is a very unique clan. You are familiar with the origin of the tailed beasts, right?" Tamayo asked, tilting her head.

All three nodded, waiting for her to continue.

"Well, their originator needed a fail-safe in the off chance that the tailed beasts ended up losing themselves. The stories I've been told are a little vague about what that means, but we can only assume that it's to stop them in the middle of a rampage." Tamayo began to explain, a frown growing on her face. "And so, the Kanemaru clan, called the Tenko clan then, was born, along with eight other clans that would watch over their respective beasts. With the calmness that you could bring the Kyuubi, Madara could easily take advantage of the distraction to take control of it."

"This sounds like a fairytale." Kohaku said quietly, hoping that it was just that. He could not help but be afraid at what this was beginning to imply.

"Well, it's not." Tamayo snapped at him. "Anyway, the Kanemaru clan was originally a clan of golden foxes, that were given human form so that they could blend in more easily. What they possessed was a unique type of chakra. Every time in history that the Kyuubi has rampaged, the mere presence of a Kanemaru has calmed it enough for it to be sealed back into its jinchuuriki with little trouble."

"But when a tailed beast is removed from its host, the host dies." Minato pointed out, voice guarded, though Kohaku wondered if he could hear a bit of anxiety in it.

"And that's where the Niizuma clan comes in." Tamayo said, smiling again. "Well, sort of. My job keeps both the host and the Kanemaru alive after an ordeal such as this. If there were ever the case that the beast was removed from its host, there is a technique in which the Kanemaru can seal it back into the host that also ensures the host's survival. This technique, however, is lethal to the Kanemaru. My clan, however, has come up with a technique that can save the Kanemaru, to cut down on the loss of life if a situation like that were to ever occur."

"Even if that is all true, you still have not proven that I am a Kanemaru. I'm not." Kohaku protested again, refusing to believe it without solid evidence.

"Tenko-san, you were dropped off on the doorstep of an orphanage at approximately six months old, correct?" Tamayo didn't wait for an answer. "Around the same time, someone matching the description of a Kanemaru, and resembling you, was found dead halfway across the village. I read the file. It was suspected that he was a Kanemaru, but when a letter asking for confirmation was sent, we never received an answer."

All of a sudden, something clicked in Kohaku's mind, and his eyes widened briefly as a distant memory surfaced, blurred at the edges from all the time that had passed.

He remembered a tired, young face, narrow like his own, and beautiful golden hair. Blue eyes, soft and sad, stared down at him. He said something, but Kohaku could not make out what it was.

Nozomu licked at his face, startling Kohaku. A frown crossed his face and he glanced up at the other three, who hadn't seemed to notice that he had lost himself for a moment. He cleared his throat and shook his head.

"Assuming that I am a Kanemaru, then why does Obito suddenly want me dead? It would be easier to have me on his side, because it would make using the Kyuubi all the easier for him." Kohaku asked quietly.

"I imagine that after you left, Madara deemed you a threat that couldn't be left around to meddle. He probably told Obito that you were a threat to their plan." Minato said slowly as everything clicked into place. He glanced at Tamayo and sighed. "Thank you for bringing this to our attention."

Tamayo, realizing that she was being dismissed, stood up and smiled. She gave them a nod and left without another word.

"Then what do we do now?" Kohaku asked once he was sure that she was gone, a frown on his face.

For a while, Minato didn't answer him, seeming to weigh the options. It went without saying that Obito had to be stopped, but they needed to come up with a viable plan of action.

"Until further notice, Kohaku, you're off active duty." Minato finally spoke up. "If what Niizuma-san said is true, then you need to be here in case Obito comes after Kushina." When he saw Kohaku's dismayed expression, he sighed. "I know how you feel, but that's how it has to be for now."

"Fine." Kohaku looked away, trusting Minato's judgement, despite his dislike of the situation.

"As for what we'll do about Obito…" Minato paused briefly. "Since there's a way to get into his base of operations through the tunnels, we'll send a team down and have him brought into custody." He glanced at Kakashi. "Are you willing to go?"

Before Kakashi could answer Minato, Kohaku was on his feet. "No! You can't send him or anyone else." He said firmly. "It's a suicide mission. No one you send will come back alive."

"You did." Kakashi pointed out, frowning. He glanced at Minato, his one visible eye narrowed, something dark lurking in the depths of it.

"Kakashi, I'm asking you not to go. Please." Kohaku said quietly, already knowing that there was nothing he could do to keep him from going to confront Obito.

"I'll go." Kakashi spoke directly to Minato, his gaze flickering towards Kohaku for a moment before returning to Minato.

Kohaku picked Nozomu up and turned to leave, holding the puppy close. There was nothing he could say to Kakashi to dissuade him, and so he stayed silent as he left. He knew this was a mistake, but there was nothing he could do.

Three days later, Kakashi, Hisayo, and three other shinobi left to enter the tunnels, and Kohaku felt in his heart that this would be the last time he saw some of the most important people in his life.


	20. Chapter 20

Chapter Twenty

Before Kohaku knew it, four months had flown by and he had not heard from or seen Kakashi or Hisayo since they had left for the caves. Every day, his anxiety grew stronger and stronger, knowing that he could do nothing to support or help Kakashi and Hisayo.

He had kept busy over the months, finding that he temporarily forgot his worry when he kept himself distracted. It always came back, of course, in the moments between tasks and when he laid down to sleep.

That afternoon, Kohaku found himself without a distraction. He sat in the training grounds with Nozomu, wishing that there was someone to spar with today. Nozomu laid sprawled out in front of him, tired out from the training that she had been going through that morning.

Kohaku couldn't get over his restlessness, and so he stood up, leaving Nozomu to rest, and began to go over his naginata forms slowly. It was the only thing he could think of to keep himself busy, and while it didn't stop his worried thoughts, it kept him moving.

After an hour or so of that, Hisahito came looking for him, a strained, nervous expression on his face. The way he glanced behind him, as if checking if he were being followed, tipped Kohaku off that something was wrong.

"Kohaku, do you have a minute? I...want to ask your help with something." Hisahito asked, glancing around again nervously.

"What's wrong, Hisahito-sensei?" Kohaku asked, narrowing his eyes. "Did something happen?"

"I...overheard Yondaime-sama talking with someone about the team that was sent into the caves." Hisahito began hesitantly. "Long story short...there's been no contact from the team in over a month, and no one knows what happened."

"What?" Kohaku felt as if his heart had stopped for a moment, a sudden ringing in his ears deafening him. He snapped himself out of it and took a step closer to Hisahito.

"I wanted to ask you if you'd come with me to find them. I'm going either way, because I have to find Hisayo." Hisahito continued, looking unusually serious.

The very thought of going into those caves again was almost enough to send Kohaku into a panic attack. How could he possibly go down there again? He had barely made it out with his life, not to mention his sanity.

But Kakashi and Hisayo were down there, probably going through the same thing that he had all those years ago, assuming that they were still alive. How could he possibly sit by and do nothing? How could he let his teacher and his closest friend suffer the way he had and do nothing about it?

Kohaku looked at Nozomu for a moment, watching her snore peacefully. Then he looked up at Hisahito and steeled his resolve. "I'll come with you." He paused for a moment. "I assume that we're doing this without official permission?"

"Seeing as how you're still off active duty and can't technically leave the village, yes, we're doing this without official permission." Hisahito replied, frowning.

"When do we leave?" Kohaku asked after a moment, not wanting to waste another second.

"We can leave now." Hisahito offered him a small bag he had been carrying. "I was hoping you'd agree to come with me, so I brought your things."

Kohaku took the bag, opening it to find that the rest of his armor was inside, along with extra explosive tags and kunai to supplement the small supply he kept on hand at all times.

Without wasting another moment, he strapped on his wrist guards and shin guards. Then he adjusted his chestplate, making sure that it was secured properly before turning to Nozomu.

He crouched down next to the puppy, frowning a little as he shook her awake. "Nozomu, I'm going away for a bit. While I'm gone, I need you to watch over Naruto and Kushina. But don't tell anyone that I've gone, alright?"

Nozomu blinked up at him with wide eyes, and then licked his face. A whimper escaped her, but the tan and white puppy nodded her assent.

Kohaku smiled and pet behind her pointed ears gently. He pulled his hand away after a moment, and then watched the puppy dart off back towards the village, casting several glances back until she disappeared from sight.

Once she was gone, he stood up and turned back to face Hisahito again, his expression growing grim once more. "I'm ready to go."

Without wasting another moment, the pair sped off for the place that Kohaku had fallen deep into the earth so many years ago, unaware of the older man watching them from the shadows, a yellow fanged smile growing upon his face.

* * *

In an attempt to avoid detection, Kohaku and Hisahito took the long route to the place that led into the caves. It took more time than either of them really wanted it to take, but it gave Kohaku more time to mentally prepare himself for what he was about to do.

He didn't think he would ever be ready for this, but as they raced along tree branches, Kohaku came to an internal resolution and realization.

When Hisahito had them stop for the night, Kohaku made up his mind and decided to ask his teacher once more for his advice. "Hisahito-sensei? How do you know when you're in love with someone?"

Hisahito paused, glancing up from the fire he had been building. "Kohaku? What's this all of a sudden?" Slowly, he resumed his work on the fire, managing to spark a flame.

"I just…" Kohaku plopped down, pulling his knees against his chest as he thought about it. "Whenever I'm with Kakashi, I feel at peace. I feel safe. And right now...I'm so scared that we might already be too late." He paused for a moment, shutting his eyes and hiding his face against his knees. "I'm scared of going back down into those caves, but...I'm more afraid of losing Kakashi. I...would gladly die for him. I would spend the rest of my life in those caves, if it meant that Kakashi could be happy and safe."

"Oh my god." Hisahito stared at him for a moment, startled by this sudden admission. He quickly got up and went over to his student, pulling him into a hug. "You're completely in love with him. I promise we'll find him, and we'll get him out of there safely." He patted his head gently and smiled a little. "I promise you that everything will work out."

Kohaku nodded just slightly, returning the hug after a moment. "Thanks, Hisahito-sensei." He said quietly.

"Promise one thing, Kohaku. Promise me that as soon as we get them both out of there, you'll tell Kakashi how you feel. Shinobi don't live long, and I don't want you to end up with regrets." Hisahito urged gently, making Kohaku look up at him.

"I promise." Kohaku whispered, meeting his eyes for a moment before he looked back down at his knees. "We should get some rest. We'll reach the right place tomorrow morning. We'll need all the rest we can get, because we won't have a chance for it once we're down in those caves."

Hisahito nodded slightly, but paused for a moment. "First, you need to tell me what we'll be up against down there. We need to be prepared. What's in those caves?"

"Death." Kohaku replied, shifting his gaze to the fire that had begun to burn brighter. "Death is down there. All I ever saw of whatever creature haunts those caves were its fangs and claws. Glinting in what little light there was down there…" His voice grew softer as he spoke, clutching his knees tightly with both arms.

"Hey, Kohaku, it's going to be alright. We're going down there together, and we'll come back out together." Hisahito frowned, trying to soothe him.

"I know. I just never thought that I would end up going back down there. It was a year of hell that I spent down there, and now...now I'm throwing myself back into that hell willingly." Kohaku sighed, still focusing on the flames.

"It's one of the things we do for love." Hisahito reached out and patted his head gently. "You said it yourself just a few minutes ago. You said you would spend the rest of your life in those caves if it meant Kakashi was safe and happy. I would do the same for my sister, or for you, or for any of the other shinobi that are down there right now." He paused. "You might be walking back into your hell, but this time you're prepared for it. This time you're not alone, and you're not going to be spending another year down there. We'll be in and out as quickly as we can."

Kohaku nodded, letting out a soft sigh. As much as he hoped it would be, he was certain that it would not be quite that simple. The sense of foreboding that rested in the pit of his stomach told him that something was going to go horribly wrong.


	21. Chapter 21

Chapter Twenty-One

The next morning, Kohaku and Hisahito stood above the cavern that led down into the caves, steeling their nerves for what was to come.

It was Kohaku that descended first, climbing down the rope that had been left by the team that had come before them. It was easier to climb down, since it was nearly impossible to tell just how deep it went at first glance.

Down at the bottom of the cavern, there was little light even from above; nothing more than a crack of silver far above their heads. It was not an issue for Kohaku, who had adjusted to using his other senses to navigate, but Hisahito had to rely on a flashlight to keep from bumping into every wall.

"Can you sense their chakra signatures?" Kohaku asked, already sensing for Kakashi's. For a moment, he thought he caught a flicker of it, but it was gone almost as soon as he had sensed it.

"No, but it's entirely possible that they're too far away or they've depleted their chakra. Which way do you think they went?" Hisahito glanced at Kohaku, squinting at him in the dark as he waited for his input.

Kohaku ignored the anxiety gnawing at his insides, instead focusing on his instincts and the flash of Kakashi's chakra that he had just barely sensed. "This path." He replied after a moment, nodding towards the darker path, which veered downwards, away from the light.

"Are you ready for this?" Hisahito asked, sounding nervous for the first time since they had departed.

"I have to be ready. There's no turning back now; I can't abandon everyone when we've come so far already." Kohaku told himself that it was going to be alright, but knew that there was little chance of things going according to plan.

Either way, it was time for him to face his fears.

Hisahito nodded in agreement. "Then let's get going." He took the lead at first, gulping as he began the descent into the caves.

Kohaku quickly overtook him, shivering at the cold, damp air that drifted in from the depths of the caves. Hisahito was at a disadvantage down here, and Kohaku knew that it would be better if he stayed farther back, despite his own fear.

The pair made their way through the caves, taking sudden turns every time Kohaku's instincts told him the direction they needed to go. It was like a maze, and chances were that it would be near impossible for them to find their way back.

It felt like hours before they finally caught the thick scent of blood from somewhere nearby. The scent muddled Kohaku's nose, and he couldn't quite pinpoint which direction it came from. They discovered the reason why when Hisahito flicked on the flashlight.

Blood was splattered everywhere, still drying. There was no body left to be discovered; just shards of bone and puddles of blood and flesh scattered across the ground and walls of the caves.

Hisahito dropped the flashlight, leaned over and threw up. He retched up the light breakfast they had eaten before leaving their makeshift camp, unable to handle the sight without knowing whether or not his sister was the one splattered across the cave.

Kohaku hardly reacted, having expected something like this to greet them already. A soft sigh escaped his lips as he tried to decipher who the remains belonged to, relieved to find that they belonged to a shinobi he didn't know. Guilt hit him like a kunai to the gut when he realized how awful it was that he was relieved that it had been someone else who had suffered this fate.

"It's not Hisayo-sensei or Kakashi…" Kohaku said quietly, hoping that it would at least bring him some comfort to know that there was still a chance that they were both alive.

However, seeing this scene was enough for Kohaku to realize that the chances of Hisayo and Kakashi still being alive were very, very slim. This was a massacre, and they hadn't stood a chance of surviving against this creature, whatever it was.

A chill ran down Kohaku's spine as he patted Hisahito's back gently. He felt as though they were being watched, but could not sense the presence of anyone but Hisahito.

"Hisahito-sensei, keep it together. We need to keep moving." Kohaku helped him straighten up, eyes narrowed as he glanced around at the area illuminated by the light of the flashlight.

There was another flash of chakra, which Kohaku recognized as Kakashi's. But before Kohaku could point it out, there was a bloodcurdling scream that sounded hauntingly familiar. It was Hisayo, there was no doubt about it.

Before Kohaku could stop him, Hisahito bolted down the passage that the scream had come from, unaware of the strange rumbling that came from above.

As Kohaku tried to catch up to him, loose rocks began to scatter down from above, filling up the passage that his teacher had just vanished down. Before he knew it, the passage was blocked, and they were trapped.

It was then that he sensed the presence above him, likely in a cave that ran above the one he was currently. It was a dark presence, a murky sort of chakra that he couldn't quite identify. It was nothing like a tailed beast's chakra, as he had sensed the Kyuubi's chakra once or twice before when he'd been around Kushina, but it had the feeling of a monster of some sort.

Then it was gone, and Kohaku could no longer track which way it had gone. Frustrated, Kohaku turned down the only other path available to him, sensing for Kakashi's chakra, which was very faint now, but steady enough that he could tell that Kakashi had likely not suffered any mortal wounds.

Kohaku's fear came back in waves as he realized that he was alone now, just as he had been all those years ago. But...with a single purpose in mind, he forced himself forward, not giving himself enough to talk himself out of moving forward.

It grew colder and colder the farther he went, but Kakashi's chakra signature grew stronger, and he knew he was headed in the right direction.

This deep, there was not even a speck of light coming down from the surface, and Kohaku had to rely on his instincts. Paranoia was beginning to set in, and at every branch in the caves he came to, he thought he felt the presence of the creature, ready to lunge at him the moment he let his guard down.

But the moment he thrust his naginata in the direction he thought the creature was waiting in, his blade met nothing but air or stone. Already, he was beginning to doubt his senses, wondering if he was imagining all this, or if something really was down here.

It frustrated Kohaku to no end that he was already doubting his sanity again. He had the inescapable truth that he was not losing his mind etched deeply into his back in the form of deep scars from the creature that roamed in these caves, and yet, he could not help but doubt every one of his senses.

"Kakashi?" Kohaku called into the cold silence when he heard the faint sound of breathing. He sensed Kakashi's chakra signature coming from the same direction, but he wanted to be sure.

"Kohaku…?" The bewilderment in his voice was mixed with immeasurable relief. "What are you doing down here?" His voice was weak, but Kohaku could tell that it was more from chakra depletion than an actual injury.

"I came to find you." Kohaku replied, making a beeline for Kakashi when he realized that it really was him.

He crouched down next to Kakashi, immediately checking him for injuries. When he found nothing more than a few cuts, he let out a sigh of relief.

"You were right." Kakashi said softly, leaning forward to wrap his arms around Kohaku, perhaps more tightly than he meant to.

"I'm sorry it took me so long." Kohaku said softly, returning the desperate hug. "Can you walk?"

"Yes." Kakashi replied, not yet letting go of Kohaku. "I overused my Sharingan, so I won't be much use in a fight right now."

"Don't worry about that." Kohaku said, helping him up carefully. "You won't need to. Once we find Hisahito-sensei and Hisayo-sensei and the other survivors, we'll be getting out of here."

"I think...Hisayo-san and I are the only ones left. I heard her scream not long ago." Kakashi replied, allowing Kohaku to help him up.

As they set off, Kohaku began to search for Hisayo and Hisahito's chakra signatures, relieved to find that Hisahito's, at least, was still as strong as before. It wouldn't be difficult to find him, provided they could find the right cave to go through.

"Lean on me, Kakashi." Kohaku said softly as they walked, slipping one arm around his waist gently when he heard his footsteps faltering with exhaustion. He slowed his pace to accommodate Kakashi's exhaustion, relieved when he did as he asked.

"Why did you come back down here?" Kakashi asked softly after a while.

"I already told you. I came to find you. I heard that contact had been lost." Kohaku paused briefly to figure out which path to take when they came to a fork. He continued a moment, voice growing softer, "I know that I can survive down here, and...I can't risk losing you or Hisayo-sensei. You are both very important to me, though perhaps in different ways."

"What do you mean by that?" Kakashi rested his head against Kohaku's shoulder, leaning most of his weight into him.

"I mean that I lo-" Kohaku was cut off when a great weight crashed into him, sending both of them tumbling to the ground.

Kohaku was up in an instant, standing protectively over Kakashi. He lunged with his naginata at the faintest sound, managing to nick whatever had crashed into them.

But a moment later, he was toppled again, pinned by what he sensed were massive paws, which tugged at his chest plate, as if trying to remove it so that it could get to his vital areas.

He struggled against it, trying to maneuver his naginata in a way that would aid his defense, finding that it was near impossible to use it effectively.

As if to stop his struggling, the creature, which Kohaku realized was the same one that had been stalking them, plunged its head down and sank its fangs deep into Kohaku's shoulder, where his shoulder met his neck.

A strangled cry escaped his throat as he struggled more desperately against the creature, his eyes squeezing shut when he heard the straps of his chestplate snap.

The creature swiped the chest plate away and slammed its paw down onto Kohaku's chest, digging its razor-sharp claws in the space between his upper ribs.

Terror seized Kohaku and for a moment, he stopped struggling, a strangled gasp escaping his lips as the creature's claws punctured his lung.

This was it, wasn't it? Kohaku was going to die here, in a place far beyond the light of the sun, without ever even having the chance to tell Kakashi how he felt, and there was nothing he could do to change this.

Was this really the end for him?


	22. Chapter 22

Chapter Twenty-Two

"Kohaku!"

The sound of Kakashi's voice snapped Kohaku out of his terror, and he remembered why he had returned here in the first place.

How long was he going to let this fear rule over him? He couldn't give up now, not when the consequences of giving would be not only his own death, but also likely Kakashi's and Hisayo and Hisahito's deaths as well.

A fierce stubbornness rose up inside him; he refused to die like this.

Kohaku let go of his naginata, knowing it was useless in such close proximity, and instead snatched one of the kunai he had brought along. He reached up with one hand, tangling his hand into the surprisingly soft shoulder fur of the creature, and jammed the kunai upwards into the creature's chest, twisting and shoving the beast off of him as the blade struck true, embedding itself in the creature's chest cavity.

In its own desperation, the creature dug its claws in deeper, dragging them viciously across Kohaku's chest until he managed to disentangle from it. It let out a strange sound, somewhere between a snarl and a yelp, letting go of his shoulder.

Kohaku sat up and scrambled backwards, a hacking cough already rising up to his lips. He listened as the creature flailed violently, in the throes of death, desperate to keep going after its prey. Its struggles grew weaker and weaker, until finally one last strangled cry left its mouth, and it went eerily still.

For a moment, Kohaku sat there in silence, his breaths rasping in his throat as it grew more difficult to breathe. Then he slowly turned and crawled over to Kakashi, feeling as if all his strength had been sapped in the struggle.

"Are you alright, Kakashi?" He asked in a whisper, trying his best to ignore the overwhelming taste of coppery blood in his mouth.

"...yes." Kakashi sounded stunned. It had been impossible for him to see what had happened in the pitch black darkness, and he could hardly believe that the beast had been slain. "Kohaku?" His voice grew concerned once he began to snap out of it, realizing that he hadn't just heard the monstrous creature cry out in pain.

"I'm here." Kohaku said softly, unable to stop a bloody cough from escaping him. He was dizzy, but thought that if he was quick, he could get Kakashi out of here before he collapsed completely. He wrapped his arms around Kakashi in a tight hug, relieved that he hadn't been hurt. "We're safe now. It's dead."

Kakashi returned the hug, immediately noticing the wet blood drenching Kohaku. He frowned beneath his mask, and fumbled around to see if his flashlight was anywhere nearby so that he could check how badly injured Kohaku was. "You're hurt." He said softly, not really expecting an answer of any sort.

"...yeah." Kohaku said softly. "I...I think it's bad." Normally, he wouldn't make an admission like this, much preferring to suffer in silence, rather than worry or scare anybody. "Hard to breathe."

Noting the strained breaths Kohaku took, Kakashi finally managed to grab ahold of the flashlight he had brought with him, flicking it on. It hadn't been much use with the creature attacking them from places that the light could not reach and faster than they could react, but with it dead, they didn't have to worry about a thing.

Kohaku glanced away from the light, having grown accustomed to the darkness in the short time he'd been back in the caves.

"Don't move, Kohaku." Kakashi said slowly, a tiny sliver of fear present in his voice. "Put your hands over the worst ones." He leaned closer to look at the bite on his shoulder, worried about the rate he was bleeding at. "I think I have some bandages."

Doing as he was told, Kohaku shut his eyes and remained as still as he could, trying to ignore the blood rising up at the back of his throat. It hurt to breathe, and he felt as if he were drowning, and in a way, he supposed he was. His lung had most certainly been punctured, and he could feel the blood filling it up slowly.

Kakashi found the bandages that Kohaku always kept on him in case of emergency, and quickly began to bandage the wounds, concerned that the blood was soaking through them so quickly.

Once he was done, Kohaku opened his eyes, a frown on his face. "We should get out of here." He said softly. "Find Hisahito-sensei and Hisayo-sensei."

As Kohaku pushed himself to his feet, stumbling forward and falling against Kakashi, he realized that something wasn't quite adding up. He let Kakashi slip his arm around his waist and put his own arm around Kakashi's neck, reluctantly leaning his weight against him.

The beast had somehow managed to dislodge the boulders and separate Kohaku and Hisahito earlier, but he was certain that he had heard the beast go in the direction that Hisahito had gone. If that was the case, then why did the creature attack him so soon after that?

It didn't make sense to him, and as they walked through the cavern illuminated with the glow of the flashlight, he struggled to piece it together. "How did it find me so quickly…" He mumbled between ragged breaths.

"I think there's more than one." Kakashi supplied an answer, glancing at Kohaku. "I never saw more than one, but…"

Of course. It was that simple, wasn't it? It would explain why it always felt as if it leapt out from one direction and the next direction the very next moment. It would explain how it could be so unrelenting, never taking an opportunity to rest.

"Then we have to move more quickly." Kohaku said softly. "That way next. I can feel Hisahito-sensei's chakra." As he focused his senses outwards around him, he found that he was beginning to learn how to recognize the presence of the creature that had attacked him.

It was a distinct feeling that he had felt from the one that had attacked him, and he could feel it again, this time coming from the same direction that Hisahito-sensei's chakra came from. He could feel the heavy darkness in the air ahead of them, but couldn't catch any sort of scent with his nose clogged with the scent of his own blood.

Thankfully, when they found Hisahito and Hisayo, neither of them were badly injured, though the second creature's presence lingered around them.

"Kohaku! What the hell happened?!" Hisahito asked the moment he spotted all the blood drenching his student's clothes, concern saturating his voice.

"It attacked me. I won." Kohaku replied simply, a painful, hacking cough immediately following his words.

"Dammit." Hisahito swore. "Can you still guide us out of here? Hisayo has a broken leg, and we need to get you medical attention as soon as possible."

"Yes. I'll get us out of here." Kohaku replied, slowly pulling away from Kakashi to stand on his own. He swayed, but managed to stay upright. "I'll try to get us back to the place we came in at. But we need to be fast."

Hisahito nodded, lifting the unconscious Hisayo into his arms gently. "Then let's go." He said, shifting back and forth on both feet.

Kohaku nodded slightly, turning slowly and making his way back up the path that they had just come from. He stopped when he felt Kakashi's hand close around his elbow, gentle as could be. He glanced back, wiping at the blood dripping from his mouth.

"I'm okay." Kohaku reassured, managing to keep himself from wheezing for just a moment. He set his naginata against the wall for a moment, gently making Kakashi let go of his elbow, and taking his hand instead. He picked his naginata again and smiled wordlessly at Kakashi before continuing on.

Startled by Kohaku's peculiar actions, Kakashi could do nothing but follow along as he led the way as quickly as his injuries would allow.

The group moved quickly through the winding caves, pausing only when Kohaku had to check directions. They stuck close together in a tightly knit group, so that they would not be separated should another of those creatures show up again. Kohaku never once let go of Kakashi's hand, instead squeezing it every time that Kakashi shifted closer to check on him after a particularly bad cough.

For a while, Kohaku was worried that his instincts were leading him astray, and that he was only getting them more and more lost down in the caves. He knew he wouldn't survive another year down beneath the surface, even if he wasn't alone this time. His injuries were too severe this time, and would require professional medical treatment.

Finally, the group managed to reach the spot that they had entered through, much to Kohaku's relief. The light that shone down from above was a sight for sore eyes, and a welcome sight.

"I'll go first." Kohaku said, grabbing the rope that still hung down for them. A grunt of pain escaped his lips as he began to climb, moving too quickly for Kakashi to protest. He was determined to make sure that they all made it out safely, and if that meant that he put himself at risk to do so, then it was a worthy risk.

After several minutes, he reached the top. He flung one over the side of the cliff and looked up when he noticed a shadow falling across him.

The first thing he saw was a pair of golden kunai dangling from a worn belt, hauntingly familiar, though in much better condition than the one he'd seen several months before. His gaze rose higher and he narrowed his eyes at the sight of the man that he'd bumped into months before; Senga Matabei.

"My, how curious it is to see you here again, little fox. Did you enjoy your little tussle with my pet?" Matabei lifted his foot up and slammed it down on Kohaku's hand, staring at him with a yellow-toothed smile.

And now, Kohaku understood why Matabei had seemed so familiar. Everything was falling into place all at once, almost too much for him to register all at once. This man had participated in the Kanemaru massacre, and it seemed as if he had also been the one responsible for tormenting Kohaku the entirety of the year that he had spent in the caves, the one controlling the beasts the dwelled below. But why? What was his purpose?

Kohaku slipped, losing his grip for a moment as pain seared through his arm. He managed to grab the rope to keep himself from falling, reaching up in an attempt to climb up before Matabei could crush his grip again.

"Nice try, little fox, but this is the end of the road for you. If only you had chosen your allies differently, you could have survived." Matabei removed one of the golden kunai from his belt, pushing his glasses up with his free hand before he set to work cutting the rope, slicing through it with one swipe.

As a result of a combination of his injuries and his surprise at what he had suddenly learned and realized, Kohaku was not able to latch onto the side of the cliff before Matabei cut the rope.

A cry escaped his lips as he fell suddenly, reaching out for anything to stop his fall, but finding nothing.

Fear pierced his heart like a kunai. Once again, he was falling down into hell, and there was nothing he could do to stop it. This time, he was certain that he wouldn't survive it, as he had nothing to break his fall.

He shut his eyes, hands grasping at thin air. He braced for the impact, afraid that if he _did_ survive, the other beast would already be down there waiting to tear him to shreds. It was almost too much for him to take, and he felt as if his heart were going to burst. Kohaku could not help but wish that he had more time to tell Kakashi how he felt, and that he had been able to hold his hand more than just once. But there was no point in wishing when it was too late to do anything about it.

Kohaku landed hard, but miraculously, he did not touch the ground. Instead, he found himself held tightly in strong arms. The world swayed around him as his savior staggered from the impact, but managed to stay upright.

"Is he alright?" Hisahito asked nervously from somewhere to his left, voice growing closer.

He felt a gentle hand on his face, and Kohaku forced his eyes open slowly. His gaze met with Kakashi's anxious gaze. He smiled ever so slightly, reaching up to place his hand over Kakashi's.

"I'm okay." Kohaku said, coughing weakly as Kakashi gently set him down on his feet. He swayed, legs nearly buckling beneath him.

"No, you're not." Kakashi frowned, immediately steadying him with both hands. "Sit down and rest." He glanced up at the light shining down at them, squinting to see what had happened.

"What happened?" Hisahito asked urgently, a frown on his face as he followed Kakashi's gaze.

"The man controlling these creatures is up there." Kohaku was beginning to put something else together the longer he considered all that he had learned.

And then it hit him. Why had Matabei tormented him in such a way all those years ago, and killed the Kanemaru clan years before that? There was really only one conclusion that made even a little sense.

If the Kanemaru clan was really capable of what Tamayo had said they were, then it would make sense for them to be eliminated if one's goal was to take control of the Kyuubi, especially if the Kanemaru clan was not willing to cooperate.

The only person that Kohaku knew had a goal requiring the Kyuubi was Uchiha Madara, and he was one of the most intelligent shinobi in history. It would be nothing to plan the downfall of a reclusive shinobi clan, and use the last survivor, who would never remember a thing to make retrieving the Kyuubi entirely too easy.

"You two, stay down here with Hisayo, and I'll take care of him." Hisahito said suddenly, his voice unusually cold and angry.

Before either of them could respond, Hisahito was gone in a puff of smoke. Hardly ten seconds later, they could catch the grating sound of metal clashing with metal.

Kohaku frowned, trying to stand up, but finding that he lacked the strength to do so. He grabbed Kakashi's wrist, hoping he would understand his urgency. "We can't let him fight alone."

Kakashi didn't have a chance to reply before there was a feral snarl from the other side of the cave, accompanied by the clicking of long, sharp claws. His attention snapped towards the direction the snarl came from, his eye narrowing. Very slowly, despite his lack of chakra, he lifted his headband to reveal his Sharingan.

The creature, however, paid no mind to Kakashi as it stepped into the dim light. Instead it crouched low to the ground, gathering up energy in its powerful hindquarters. Then without warning, it sprang forward, past Kakashi and right for Kohaku.

It wanted Kohaku dead more than anything else, and he realized that it would never stop going after him, so long as Matabei was alive and controlling it. He was the sole target because he could potentially derail Madara's, and now Obito's, carefully laid plan.

Kohaku felt his head crack against the stone wall as the creature landed on him, and his head spun as he flung his arms up to defend himself. He knew it was futile while he was so weak, but he did not want to die.

The creature's claws dug into the hard stone ground, scoring it deeply with horrifying gashes that showed just what it could achieve. Its hot, rank breath nearly suffocated him as it leaned close and snarled.

A second later, Kohaku heard the crackle of lightning, something strange and impossible in this underground cave. Then the creature shrieked in agony.

Blood sprayed across Kohaku's face, and he hardly registered the creature collapsing onto its side, instead focused on the sudden appearance of Kakashi's face in his line of sight. He stared at him, mismatched eyes wide and afraid. Not afraid of Kakashi, but of the very close call he had just had.

Kakashi shoved the creature away from Kohaku, his gaze never leaving Kohaku's face. Then he dropped to his knees next to him and wrapped his arms around him tightly, one hand gently cradling his head against his chest.

Kohaku immediately returned the hug, shutting his eyes tightly. He could feel Kakashi shaking against him, and he could not tell if it was from exhaustion or fear, though, judging by the rapid beating of his heart, it was more likely fear.

"Are you okay, Kohaku?" Kakashi asked softly, loosening his grip just enough for him to look up.

Silently, Kohaku reached up with one trembling hand and brushed his fingers across Kakashi's cheek gently. He nodded slightly, unable to tear his gaze away from Kakashi's.

As inconvenient as the timing of it was, Kohaku suddenly noticed the closeness of their lips in the dim lighting, only a few centimeters apart, and separated by the thin material of Kakashi's mask. He wondered briefly if he could make some sort of excuse to shift close enough so their lips touched.

"Don't scare me like that again." Kakashi whispered, staring at Kohaku intently. His voice shook ever so slightly, hardly noticeable unless one was as close as Kohaku was to him. "I lost you once, and I've nearly lost you twice since then."

Kohaku frowned, focusing on his mismatched gaze. "I'm okay. You're not going to lose me." He promised, but fell into a painful coughing fit just a moment after he spoke.

It was clear by what little Kohaku could see of his expression, that Kakashi was not convinced. He reached up gently, cupping his hands around Kohaku's face, running one thumb along the scar that went down the left side of Kohaku's face in an absentminded manner. "Just stay with me until we can get you help."

"I won't leave you. I'll always be right by your side." Kohaku promised, offering him a weak smile. He wanted to say more, but their moment was interrupted by Hisahito returning, looking much worse for wear, but still somehow in better shape than the other three.

"Are you alright?" Hisahito asked when he spotted the beast lying dead beside Kohaku and Kakashi. "What happened?"

"We're fine. Well…" Kakashi glanced at Kohaku, frowning. "As fine as we can be. But we need to get going again. Is it all clear up there?"

Hisahito nodded slightly, going to check on his sister briefly before checking on Kohaku. "We won't have any more problems returning home." He examined Kohaku, frowning. "We'll go up, and find a safe place to rest for the night, and I'll see what I can do to lessen your pain."

Kohaku frowned a little, tilting his head. "I trust your judgement, Hisahito-sensei, but you're not a medic nin, and quite frankly, that scares me." He tried to cushion the blow, but they seemed to land hard all the same.

The wounded expression on Hisahito's face was something to behold, sad and pouty. "I'll have you know that I _do_ have medical training. I just decided that my path laid elsewhere." He paused and huffed. "And I really don't like seeing blood."

"Should we really be stalling time like this?" Kakashi asked, sounding less rude and more worried as he gazed at Kohaku's pale face.

"You're right." Hisahito sighed. "It's safe now, so you can carry him up there without worrying. I'm going to take Hisayo up."

And so, the group left the caves, the only sign of Matabei left at the top, his golden kunai stained with blood. None of them were aware that their troubles were far from over.


	23. Chapter 23

Chapter Twenty-Three

The group stopped for the night in a small clearing, shrouded safely by shrubs and bushes. None of them could go much farther, exhausted from each of the struggles they had faced together and apart.

Hisahito sat next to Kohaku, working on clearing some of the blood that had been filling his lungs up away so that he could breathe more easily. While he did have some experience with medical training, he was not an expert, so the most he managed to do was slow the bleeding for the time being, so that they would have more time to get him back safely.

Meanwhile, Kakashi set up traps around the area, moving much in the same way that a zombie would, exhausted beyond belief. The only thing keeping him going was the desire to make sure that Kohaku was safe and protected.

Kohaku stayed quiet, his gaze focused on Kakashi the majority of the time, occasionally shifting towards Hisayo, who was still unconscious, but thankfully not in terrible condition, other than her broken leg. He wanted to talk to Kakashi, wanted to tell him how he felt, but he didn't want to tell him while Hisahito could hear him. He was self-conscious, and this was...important, and a little scary.

Kakashi came back a few moments later, sitting next to Kohaku, who sat leaning against a tree. He let out a weary sigh and rested his head back against the tree next to Kohaku's head. "How are you holding up?"

"I'm alright." Kohaku replied, shifting his head just slightly so that he could watch Kakashi from the corner of his eye. "Just tired. How are you doing?"

The only response Kohaku received was a shrug. Kakashi was looking away from him now, and Kohaku could not figure out what was wrong.

A soft sigh escaped Kohaku's lips and he reached over slowly, taking Kakashi's hand gently and squeezing it. "I'm here for you." He spoke so softly that Hisahito, who was taking care of Hisayo on the other side of the clearing, could not hear him.

"How are you okay after all that?" Kakashi asked just as softly.

Kohaku frowned and gently leaned his head on Kakashi's shoulder. "I'm okay because I got you out of there." He sighed and watched as Hisahito laid down to rest, wondering if he were going to have an opportunity to really talk to Kakashi now.

"How were you able to go back down there? You were so afraid the last time I saw you." Kakashi asked, shifting closer to him.

"Because my fear of losing you was greater than returning to those caves." It was a rather forward answer, but Kohaku felt that he needed to be bluntly honest. He couldn't put this off anymore, no matter how it changed their relationship.

Kakashi turned and pulled Kohaku into a gentle hug, taking care not to brush against his wounds. "You scared me half to death today." He whispered, shutting his eye as he rested his face against Kohaku's throat.

"I'm sorry." Kohaku shut his eyes and pressed his face against Kakashi's unruly hair, relaxing for the first time since he'd last seen him. "But you've been scaring me for the last four months. Not knowing where you were or if you were okay. But it doesn't matter now. We're both going to be okay."

"You're right." Kakashi sighed softly, absentmindedly rubbing Kohaku's back as he relaxed against him. "Just as long as we're all okay."

Kohaku nodded slightly, opening his eyes and glancing over to see if Hisahito had fallen asleep yet, relieved to find that he was snoring. He turned his attention back to Kakashi and sighed softly. "I want to talk to you about something…it's important, and…" He paused, unable to hold back a painful cough. "And today made me realize that I don't want to die regretting never telling you this."

"You're not going to die anytime soon, Kohaku." Kakashi said sternly, looking up at him anxiously.

Kohaku briefly wondered when Kakashi had become so comfortable around him that he didn't bother to hide how he felt anymore. "That's not something we can predict, Kakashi, but that's not the point here anyway." He mumbled. "I want to tell you how I feel about you." He shifted his gaze away, feeling his cheeks heat up a little.

"What do you mean?" Kakashi asked, and Kohaku missed the way his eye widened at his words as he wondered if it meant what he thought it did.

"What I mean is...and forgive me for not knowing how to say this. This is...a new experience for me." Kohaku coughed, covering his mouth with his hand. When he moved it away, there was fresh blood, but less than before. He wiped the blood away on the grass, letting out a soft sigh. "I really, really like you."

"...you like me? What do you mean by that?" Kakashi's voice grew softer as he spoke, his heartbeat seeming to pick up with a nervousness he could not completely hide.

Kohaku grew flustered, his face turning beet red. "Are you teasing me?" He asked, biting his lip. One glance at the mischievous glint in Kakashi's eye told him all he needed to know. He looked away again and refused to look at him again when Kakashi asked him to.

"Come on, Kohaku...I'm sorry." Kakashi couldn't help but laugh a little as he leaned closer to him. "Look at me. I won't tease you anymore. I just want to hear you say it again."

Pausing for a moment, Kohaku came up with a better idea. It would be a guarantee that he wouldn't have to say a word.

Kohaku took a deep breath and turned to face Kakashi, meeting his gaze for just a moment before placing both hands on his cheeks and leaning so close that their noses touched, their lips not terribly much far apart.

Then his eyelids fluttered shut as he closed the distance between their lips, pressing a chaste kiss against his, their lips separated only by the suddenly annoying fabric of Kakashi's mask.

He pulled away after a moment, shifting his gaze away from Kakashi. "I hope that got the meaning across." He whispered.

"It certainly did." Kakashi replied after a moment, staring at Kohaku as if he had just been given an unexpected gift. "Will you look at me?"

Kohaku hesitated for a moment, still feeling rather flustered and embarrassed. This was not something he did often, or ever, really. Now that he thought about it, this was more likely the first time he had ever done something like this, and it was certainly a strange experience. Strange, but...nice.

After a moment, he slowly turned to face Kakashi, startled when he found Kakashi's lips pressed against his own again almost immediately, this time without the mask as a barrier. He relaxed against his touch after a moment and leaned into the kiss. His guard was down now.

When they pulled apart, it took less than a second for Kakashi to quickly pull his mask up, just in case Hisahito or Hisayo woke up.

Kohaku didn't mind, merely resting his head against Kakashi's shoulder gently. "What does this mean for us?" He asked quietly, shifting further into his gentle embrace, comforted by his warmth.

"What do you want it to mean for us?" Kakashi asked after a moment's hesitation.

"I want it to mean that we'll stay together like this. I like being close to you, talking to you...kissing you." Kohaku whispered, shutting his eyes. He was growing tired. "I feel as if I don't have to be afraid of the dark when you're around. I think...I need to rest."

"Go to sleep, Kohaku. I'll be here when you wake up. I promise." Kakashi gently pulled him close, running one hand through Kohaku's wild hair to soothe him.

A soft sigh escaped Kohaku's lips as he pressed his face against Kakashi's neck. It took only a few moments for him to drift off into a comfortable sleep.


	24. Chapter 24

Chapter Twenty-Four

The next morning, Kohaku was almost worse off than he had been before. His bloody, wet cough had returned, and he'd developed a fever overnight. It was more difficult to breathe now, and things were not looking good.

Hisahito crouched next to Kohaku, frowning. "I'll do the same thing I did for him last night, but we need to get him home fast. There's really only so much I can do, and this is a serious injury." He told Kakashi, hands glowing green over the bandaged wounds as he worked at removing the excess blood that had begun filling his lung again.

Kakashi nodded slightly, keeping a close eye on Kohaku. He could tell he was awake, but didn't bring it to Hisahito's attention just yet.

"I'm particularly worried about this bite. I don't know what kind of bacteria that thing was carrying in its mouth, and it already looks like it's becoming infected." Hisahito sighed softly, checking Kohaku's temperature again. "It's not looking good."

"He'll be alright." Kakashi said firmly, gently shaking Kohaku once Hisahito pulled his hands away.

"Are you feeling well enough to run? We shouldn't waste anymore time here." Hisahito asked as he went to lift Hisayo up.

"I'll be fine." Kakashi replied, gently lifting Kohaku into his arms, taking care not to jostle him too much. He glanced down at Kohaku with a frown, meeting his half open eyes. "Hang in there, Kohaku. We're going to get you help."

Kohaku nodded, resting his head against Kakashi's shoulder. "I know. I trust you." He whispered softly, shutting his eyes to rest. He was trying to conserve his energy, so that when they made it home, he could walk into the village of his own accord, though he didn't mind being carried by Kakashi.

Grim expressions shadowing their faces, Hisahito and Kakashi set off for Konoha.

* * *

It became clear when they were only a few miles away from the village that something was horribly wrong.

If the dark smoke trailing above the village wasn't enough of a sign that something was wrong, then the terrifying snarls of some enormous beast were certainly enough to frighten even the most hardened shinobi.

The tips of large orange ears and tails peeked over the trees, telling the four shinobi exactly what had happened in their absence. The Kyuubi had been freed.

Horror-struck, Kohaku struggled in Kakashi's grip until he set him down on the ground. He stumbled forward, taking a moment to gain his footing. Where was Minato? Kushina? Naruto?

"Kohaku! Stay here!" Kakashi put his hand on Kohaku's shoulder and tried to stop him. "Hisahito and I will go to help."

"No!" Kohaku snapped, suddenly remembering what Tamayo had told him all those months ago. "I have to find...Kushina."

"There's nothing we can do for her!" Kakashi had already realized what it meant for Kushina when he'd seen the Kyuubi's ears above the treetops. As much as it hurt to admit it, they had to prioritize containing the Kyuubi at all costs.

Kohaku spun around to face him, anger written clearly across his face. "Even if that's true, I have to try!" He retorted. "You may have forgotten what Niizuma-san said, but I haven't! And if there's even the slightest chance that I can save her and stop the Kyuubi at the same time, I'll take it!"

He was, perhaps, overreacting, but Kohaku didn't have many people in his life that were precious to him. Kushina was one of those people, and he would be damned if he didn't try to save her.

A moment later, he was gone, sprinting for the village as fast as his injured body would allow. He was still one of the fastest shinobi in the village, and it was all Kakashi could do to keep up.

Their progress was halted at the village gates by none other than Akagi Ichika, who looked more monstrous than she had the last time they had met.

Ichika had made more modifications to her body since their last meeting to compensate for and repair the damage that Kohaku had done to her. She hardly looked human anymore, both arms made completely of steel instead of the skin tone wood she had used before to make her look somewhat more human.

Her face was a mess of stitches and a false eye replaced the one that Kohaku had taken from her, focusing like a camera lens on the two approaching shinobi.

"TENKO!" Ichika snarled, baring unnatural fangs at him.

"Go, Kohaku. I'll distract her." Kakashi said when he caught up. He glanced at Kohaku, frowning. "You're right; you have to try." He knew that Kohaku would not survive a fight with Ichika and still be able to attempt calming the Kyuubi.

Kohaku hesitated, but moved to sprint away before his strength failed him. Kakashi caught him by the elbow and he stopped to glance back.

"Make sure you come back to me alive." Kakashi said before letting go and turning to face Ichika.

"I will. Promise me the same." Kohaku waited until he caught the nearly imperceptible nod, and then bolted, disappearing past Ichika faster than she could react.

And then Kohaku was in the village, surveying the damage as he made his way towards the center of the village, where the Kyuubi was wreaking havoc. He could see several shinobi trying desperately to contain the beast, with no luck.

He sought out Minato, concerned when he couldn't see him anywhere. Kushina, however, was trying desperately to keep the Kyuubi from moving from its spot, despite her weakening body. When he looked closer, he spotted Naruto cowered behind Kushina, staring up at the enormous tailed beast with a terror that could not be contained. Nozomu sat next to him, her fur bristling with fear and anger.

Kohaku sped up, leaping across rooftops until he finally leapt down and skidded to a stop between Kushina and the Kyuubi, naginata held defensively in both hands. He glanced back, relieved to see that Kushina was still standing so strong after having the Kyuubi extracted from her.

He turned his attention back to the Kyuubi, wondering what he was supposed to do now. Tamayo had never told him what the technique was that he needed to use to seal the Kyuubi again and save Kushina.

Taking a deep, rasping breath, he looked up and met the Kyuubi's enraged eyes. And then he knew. He _knew_ what he had to do.

"Kohaku?" Kushina asked, startled at his sudden appearance.

"It's going to be okay, Kushina." Kohaku said softly, his heart breaking as he realized that there was no way out of this for him. "Tell Kakashi that I'm sorry."

The Kyuubi stared down at Kohaku, suddenly still, its eyes narrowing with recognition. For the first time since the Kyuubi had been freed, everything was silent.

Then Kohaku set his naginata down, slowly making several complicated hand seals. He took a step back, and then another, until he was standing side by side with Kushina. "I can seal the Kyuubi again, and make sure you survive."

"But Kohaku…" Kushina seemed to realize that there was something he wasn't telling her. "How?" She had never realized that he had any talent with sealing tailed beasts.

"It doesn't matter how." Kohaku replied, making the last seal.

Enormous chains of chakra erupted from the ground, clasping around each of the Kyuubi's legs. The chains began to pull tight against the Kyuubi, propelling it towards Kohaku and Kushina.

Kohaku swayed, a bloody cough escaping his lips. "I'd sit down if I were you." He said, turning to Kushina when the Kyuubi was close enough.

The Kyuubi struggled violently against the chains, seeming to realize what Kohaku was planning, but there was nothing it could do when more chakra chains sprung up to restrain it. A vicious snarl escaped its bared lips.

Hands shaking, Kohaku made another hand seal, turned to face the seated Kushina. And just like that, the Kyuubi had vanished, returned to its host. He crouched down next to Kushina, biting back another cough.

Kohaku leaned closer to her, his hands beginning to glow blue with chakra as he took her hands in his own. He couldn't help but smile at her as his vision began to grow dark. Kakashi would be upset when he found out what he was doing, but...he couldn't stand the thought of little Naruto growing up without his mother.

"What are you doing?!" Kushina finally understood what he was doing, and tried to yank her hands away from him, but he refused to let go.

"You know...you, Minato, and Naruto are family to me. And I just...can't stand the thought of the three of you...being torn apart." Kohaku swayed, struggling to remain upright. "I'm already dying, and I...I want what little life I have left to go to good use. You deserve to see your son grow up, and he deserves to have you in his life longer than this."

"Kohaku…" Kushina was beginning to cry.

"It's strange. I never thought that this would be how I'd die. I always thought I'd die alone, and I was okay with that, but now...I'm glad I'm not alone." Kohaku shut his eyes, a soft sigh escaping his lips as he faded into unconsciousness, not even feeling it when he hit the ground.

* * *

A/N: The end of this chapter was so hard to write, but I hope ya'll have been enjoying this fic so far! Thanks for reading!

rainwalker12: I imagine that when it's finished, this fic will be around 30 chapters long, give or take?


	25. Chapter 25

Chapter Twenty-Five

Kohaku found that death was quite peaceful, if rather empty. Nothing hurt anymore, and he didn't have to fight just to stay standing, which was a blessing after his tangle with Matabei's monstrous creation.

He did find, however, that he was completely alone in the dark. This was a fact that he did not like, and something that he didn't particularly want to deal with for the rest of eternity.

And so, set on finding some sort of light, Kohaku stood up and began to walk. He looked around, frowning a little.

What was he doing here anyway? His memories of before he had woken up here were blurry at best, and the most he could remember was an agonizing pain. It was strange, really, that he had ended up in such a place like this. He was worried that he was forgetting something important.

Where was he, anyway? Kohaku found that it was difficult to remember what he had been thinking about just a few moments ago. This was a feeling that he didn't like. He felt as if he were going crazy in this dark, empty place.

Kohaku felt as if he had been here before, but that something was different this time. He supposed that he should trust his instincts to get out of here; he was certain, though he didn't know how, that his instincts had never led him wrong.

Pausing for a moment, he looked around in the darkness. All around him, it stretched outwards with no end and no perceptible difference no matter which direction he looked.

Admittedly, the darkness was scaring him. He just wanted to go home, but he didn't know where home was. He didn't know where anything was anymore.

What a terrible curse it was to be so afraid of the dark and to only be surrounded by it with no memories of who he was or where he should be going. Had he ever felt safe before?

Kohaku stopped, vaguely remembering the ghost of someone's arms wrapped securely around him. He could not remember who had held him like this, but he remembered that he had felt safe in their embrace.

A longing that he couldn't quite quell rose up inside him. He wanted to be held like that again. He felt that if he were in those arms, he wouldn't have to be so afraid of this endless darkness anymore.

A soft sigh escaped his lips as he glanced around. Nothing was visibly different, but...there was definitely something different here now.

Kohaku looked around, realizing that the temperature had changed. To his left, everything was as cold as it had been since he had arrived here. To his right, he felt a comforting warmth, somehow familiar to him.

It wasn't really much of a decision for him. He turned and slowly began walking towards the warmth.

The farther he walked, the safer he felt. Vague sensations and wisps of memories assaulted his senses in the strangest ways. There was the feeling of someone ruffling his hair, and a warm feeling of affection that accompanied it.

He could feel a slobbery tongue licking his cheek delightedly, and a fluffy tail brushing against his leg as it wagged. Warm feelings of happiness accompanied this memory, and he wished he could remember what sort of animal that it was that had licked him like this.

He felt the phantom of a gentle hand on the back of his neck, and felt the vague sensation of a brush smoothing out his long hair.

Something clicked in Kohaku's mind, and he frowned. He knew who this was, but at the same time could not put a name or face to it, no matter how hard he tried to force himself to remember. He knew the sad expression that they would be wearing as they stared down at him, and he knew that he did not want them to feel so sad.

Kohaku began to walk faster, his memories piecing themselves back together the farther he went. Hazy memories in his mind unfolded before him, and the more he remembered, the more his heart sank.

He was beginning to remember where he was.

"I don't...I don't want to die." Kohaku whispered almost to himself, wondering how he had been so calm talking to Kushina, all the while knowing that he was going to die; that he was willingly transferring what little life he had left to her.

Kohaku remembered the kiss he had shared with Kakashi, and the promise that he had made him. He didn't want to break that promise, but he didn't know what he could do to prevent it.

Before he knew it, Kohaku was running, running for the sense of familiarity before him. Running for the faint sound of someone's voice far off in the distance. "I'm sorry...I'm sorry, Kakashi…!"

Kohaku tripped, sprawling forward with one hand outstretched for the life that was slipping through his fingers like sand. He crashed into the ground, his eyes squeezing shut as he braced for the impact.

Except, it never came.

When Kohaku opened his mismatched eyes next, weak sunlight was shining down on him, shadowed only by the blurry silhouette of the one he loved more than anything in the world.

Kohaku reached up slowly, the pain from his wounds returning in waves, along with his hearing. He brushed his fingers against Kakashi's cheek ever so slightly, wondering why his fingers came away damp.

"Damn, that was close." Tamayo's exhausted voice floated over from somewhere to his right. "I thought for sure I was too late…"

Kohaku paid very little attention to her voice, instead staring up at Kakashi, his vision finally clearing enough for him to see more than blurry shapes. He noticed the shock and fear that clouded Kakashi's eyes, worse than it had been the last time he had nearly died.

"You...you're okay…" Kakashi whispered softly, lifting Kohaku into his arms gently. He held him so desperately that Kohaku wondered if he were afraid of letting him go.

"I promised…" Kohaku whispered, offering him a weak smile. "I promised that...I would come back to you. I'm sorry...that I kept you waiting."

In that moment, it seemed as if Kakashi were going to break down completely. But he swallowed back his tears for the moment, shaking as he pulled Kohaku into a tight hug, his face pressed against his neck.

"That's the second time you've died on me." He whispered so quietly that only Kohaku could hear him. "You're going to worry me to death."

"I'll always come back to you…" Kohaku whispered, his smile growing wider. "I love you too much to just die."

"I hate to interrupt your reunion, but we do still have a problem." Tamayo said rather loudly.

Kakashi lifted his head for a moment and glanced at her, while Kohaku did the same. "The Kyuubi and Ichika have both been taken care of."

"Yes, but there's still the one that released the Kyuubi in the first place. Yondaime-sama is still fighting him, I think." Tamayo stared at Kohaku with a piercing look, as if she were trying to silently tell him something.

"Obito." Kohaku said softly, a frown crossing his face as he sat up slowly in Kakashi's lap. Agony tore through his ribcage, where he'd been wounded, but he paid no mind to it.

Tamayo tilted her head, frowning. "Don't strain yourself too much. I healed the worst of the damage, but you're still not strong enough for a fight. I don't want all my hard work to go to waste."

Kohaku glanced at Kakashi, frowning. "I think I know how to get through to him." He said softly. "Will you help me?"

The hesitance in Kakashi's eyes made Kohaku wonder if he would refuse, but all he did was give a slight nod. He helped Kohaku stand up, forcing him to lean against him.

"I saw them go towards the Forest of Death." Tamayo said helpfully. She glanced at Kushina before glancing back at Kohaku and Kakashi. "I don't think he's too far gone for his mind to be changed, so please do what you can to help him. I don't want to have anymore patients of mine to die because of his actions, both past and future."

Kakashi nodded slightly, glancing at Kohaku briefly. "Are you ready to end this?" He asked him softly.

Kohaku could not help but think of the peaceful days that would lie ahead if they could stop Obito; days that he could spend with Kakashi without having to worry about the Kyuubi being freed, or having anymore important people being taken from him.

"Yes, I'm ready."


	26. Chapter 26

Chapter Twenty-Six

"Kohaku, you should rest for a moment." Kakashi insisted when Kohaku nearly lost his footing. "You're in no shape to be pushing yourself so much. Niizuma-san may have healed the worst of your injuries, but you lost a lot of blood."

"I'm okay. I'll rest after we talk to Obito…" Kohaku leaned more heavily against him, wondering how much further they would have to go before they found Minato and Obito. He could hear the sound of distant fighting, but it was difficult to tell exactly which direction it was coming from in the Forest of Death.

He had considered trying to pinpoint Obito's exact location with his chakra, but he was running dangerously low, and he wanted to keep enough in reserve in the off chance that he needed to contain him with a barrier of some sort.

"If he attacks us, promise me that you'll stay out of it." Kakashi frowned at him as they continued onward, the sound of fighting growing louder the farther they walked.

"Can't promise that. I'm sorry, but if he attacks us, I'm going to contain him." Kohaku replied, glancing up at him and smiling weakly. He didn't really want to take his gaze away from him, secretly afraid that his plan may not work, and that they may end up dead.

"You can hardly walk! How are you planning on containing him?" Kakashi tightened his grip around Kohaku's waist, trying to hide his rising anxiety from him. He thought this was a bad idea, but he didn't want to completely give up on Obito either.

"Will you just trust me, Kakashi?" Kohaku asked, hissing in frustration over his current weakness. He was seriously concerned that he may not be conscious by the time they reached Minato and Obito, but he didn't want Kakashi to worry.

Kohaku didn't want to admit that he'd pushed himself entirely too far over the last several days, and there was only so much more his body could take before it shut down completely. Again. He had a feeling that Kakashi wasn't much better off, knowing how much chakra he had used over the last several days and the months before that. He was certain that he'd hardly had a chance to rest once the beast had been set loose on them.

"Always." Kakashi said without hesitation, unable to hide the concern in his voice. He knew there was no point in arguing, but more than that, he was certain that one way or another, Kohaku would change Obito's mind.

"Thanks, Kakashi." Kohaku smiled as they walked, though he couldn't help but worry that they would arrive too late to help both Minato and Obito.

Eventually, the pair came to a clearing, where the sounds of fighting grew stronger and the scent of blood saturated the air.

As they peered through the trees, both Minato and Obito came into view. Both were in terrible shape, but still locked in a stalemate.

Obito's mask had broken, and his cloak had been torn in many places. Minato's long, white haori had been torn in many places, blood staining nearly every inch of it and rendering it nearly unrecognizable.

Kohaku stumbled forward, pulling himself from Kakashi's grip. He stumbled between the two shinobi, putting both hands up to dissuade them from continuing to attack. "Stop!" He shouted.

"Stay out of this, Tenko!" Obito snarled, flashing an angry look at him. "You had your chance to join Madara! He saved your life, and you betrayed him! You had a chance, and you wasted it!"

"Helping him would have meant betraying my village and home, and turning my back on everyone who supported me!" Kohaku glared at him. "And for what? A family that I never knew?"

"How could you possibly understand?" Obito asked, moving to continue speaking, but being silenced by a heavy blow to the face by Kohaku.

"Shut up! You're the one that doesn't understand. You can't even see it when you've been manipulated! You and I, we were both played for fools, but you're still under the impression that Madara saved you, when in reality, he brainwashed you!"

"Kohaku, what do you mean?" Minato asked, frowning as he glanced between two of his precious students. His gaze shifted when he heard Kakashi make his appearance. He remembered everything that Kohaku had told him Madara had done, but it sounded as if he was talking about something else now.

"You don't know what you're talking about!" Obito lunged at Kohaku, kunai in hand.

Kohaku sidestepped out of the way, retrieving a golden kunai that he had stowed away after Hisahito had defeated Matabei. He raised it above his head, his mismatched gaze never leaving Obito's scarred face.

"This belonged to Senga Matabei. I found a matching kunai at the Kanemaru residence when Kakashi and I went to investigate what had happened to them." Kohaku tossed the kunai to Minato, his gaze never leaving Obito's face. "You know why Madara wanted me on his side. I can calm the Kyuubi, and trap it easier than anyone else can."

"This...but how does Senga fit in with Madara's plan?" Kakashi asked, tense and ready to step in if it looked like Kohaku was in danger.

"The Kanemaru wouldn't have wanted to hand the Kyuubi over to someone who would use it for a purpose like this." Minato put in, starting to put together the pieces.

"But…" Obito began, frowning. "That still doesn't change the fact this is all for the better! This is all for a more peaceful world, a world where…"

Kohaku limped towards Obito as quickly as he could manage and grabbed the collar of cloak, dragging him close. "Madara tried to manipulate me into helping him through cruel and merciless means, and I have to wonder if he did the same to you."

Obito tried to stab Kohaku, missing just barely as he shifted out of the way. "Why do you have to keep interfering?!"

"Do you remember when we were kids, in the academy?" Kohaku asked, grabbing Obito's wrist with his free hand so that he couldn't attempt to stab him again. "Do you remember when you asked me if I was the one passing you notes in class?"

"What the hell does that matter?!" Obito was practically seething with anger, so much different from how Kohaku had remembered him.

Out of the corner of his eye, Kohaku noticed Kakashi shifting closer, and he could hear Minato doing the same. "Stay back." He requested politely, glancing back at them before glancing back at Obito. "It was me. I was passing you the notes then because I wanted to help you. You never treated me like everyone else did, never commented on the things everyone else, things that even now, I'm still insecure about. I looked up to your kindness and your optimism, and I know that part of you is still there, somewhere."

"I was a _child_ and naive to the realities of this cruel world!" Obito snarled at him, trying to shake Kohaku's iron grip.

"Since when are kindness and optimism mutually exclusive to childhood and naivete?" Kohaku asked him with a shake of his head. "I think that knowing the harshness of this world would make kindness and optimism more important. No matter what you think, you're not bettering this world by carrying out Madara's plan just so that you can regain something that you lost. It's more naive to think that you can bring back what's gone than anything else."

"...what do you mean?" Obito stilled momentarily before redoubling his efforts to free himself from Kohaku's death grip.

"You can never go back to how things were before you lost them. What's lost can't always be found, and sometimes...sometimes you just have to move on. How can you call this living when all you've been doing is trying to bring back the past?" Kohaku shook his head and lowered his gaze for a moment. "You say you're trying to create a more peaceful world, but why don't you take a look at the people around you? So many people have been hurt because of Madara's goals, and now...you've followed in his footsteps, with violence and destruction. You already tried to kill me, you've been trying to kill Minato-sensei. But...even worse than that, by releasing the Kyuubi, you have hurt and killed so many innocent and defenseless people."

Kohaku let out a soft sigh, letting go of Obito when his movements finally stilled. "When will it end? Why do so many people have to die so that you can create a world dedicated to the past?" He stepped back slowly, shaking his head again. "If you're not careful, there won't be anyone there to see your new world."

"Then what do you suggest I do?!" Obito demanded, backing away from the three of them, almost looking like a cornered animal.

"There isn't just one path to peace, you know." Minato said softly before Kohaku could speak. "You don't have to destroy everything around you for your idea of peace."

Kohaku smiled at Obito weakly. "Everyone has a choice, and that includes you." He raised his hand and offered it to him. "Things will never be the way they were before, but...that's not always a bad thing." He glanced at Kakashi briefly, his gaze softening in a way that it hadn't softened for anyone else before.

Obito stared at Kohaku, his gaze shifting between him, Kakashi, and Minato. There was so much uncertainty in his gaze.

"You can still repair some of the damage that you've done." Kohaku said softly, shifting his gaze back to Obito. "So what do you say?"


	27. Chapter 27

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Kohaku didn't remember much of anything after offering Obito his hand. He'd been struck by an overwhelming feeling of dizziness, and then everything went dark.

The next thing he knew, he was blinking himself awake in a dark room, only a sliver of moonlight shining into the room through the shades. It took him a moment to realize that he was in the hospital, disoriented and suddenly afraid.

He didn't know what had happened after he lost consciousness. Was Kakashi okay? What about Minato and Kushina and Naruto? Had Obito given himself up, or had he been the reason that Kohaku collapsed in the first place?

Kohaku sat up slowly, a pained gasp barely escaping his lips. He had really overdone it this time, and he was paying for it.

He glanced around slowly, first noticing the flowers that had been left on the nightstand for him and a few cards accompanying them. It wasn't enough to help him piece together what had happened, but it was enough to reassure him that Konoha was safe at least.

A soft sigh escaped his lips and he glanced in the other direction, startled to see Kakashi asleep halfway on his bed and halfway in a chair. He had been so out of it that he hadn't even noticed he was there at first.

Kohaku reached out slowly, placing a hand on Kakashi's head gently and running his fingers through his hair. He couldn't help but smile a little, relieved that he was alright even after all that had happened and all that he suffered. He knew he must be tired, and so he did his best not to disturb him, though it was a futile effort.

The moment that Kohaku placed his hand on his head, Kakashi woke up, sitting up quickly. His one visible eye widened in surprise when he saw Kohaku sitting up, and for a moment, he just sat there, as if he were frozen.

"Kohaku…" His voice was hardly more than a whisper. A moment later, he pulled him into a tight hug, trying not to cause him anymore pain, but desperate to be close to him.

"I think I'm alright now." Kohaku said softly, slowly wrapping his own arms around him. He felt better now that he knew Kakashi was safe. "I'm not sure what happened, but I'm sorry if I scared you."

"You pushed yourself too much." Kakashi said softly. "You tried to do too much, when you needed to stay back and rest."

"I'm sorry." Kohaku said softly, reaching up and placing one hand on Kakashi's cheek. "I'm sorry I scared you, and I'm sorry that I didn't listen to you. I should have. But I'm okay now. I promise." He ran his thumb over Kakashi's cheekbone, meeting Kakashi's eye without hesitation.

"You've done nothing but give me heart attacks over these last several days." Kakashi whispered, unable to take his eye off of him. "But...I don't even care, because you really will be okay."

Kohaku smiled at him gently, tightening his arm around him gently. "You sound like you need to rest. You almost sound incoherent. When was the last time you really slept?" He had his suspicions.

"I've been resting while you were asleep…" Kakashi trailed off when he saw Kohaku's expression. "I haven't really slept since the night before we came back to the village."

A frown crossed Kohaku's face and he loosened his grip around him gently, lying back down on his bed. "Come lie down with me."

Kakashi hesitated for just a moment before climbing into the bed next to him. He couldn't help but smile faintly under his mask when Kohaku immediately shifted closer. It was nice that Kohaku wanted to be so close to him, that he trusted him so much.

"Y'know...I think we deserve a vacation after all this." Kohaku mumbled as he shut his eyes, resting face close to Kakashi's. "Somewhere warm and sunny, and just the two of us."

Kakashi watched Kohaku, gently running his hands through his tangled hair. "Sure." He replied softly. "Where do you want to go?" It was nice to think that maybe they could relax for a while.

"Mm...there's a place I know. But, if I'm being honest, as long as I'm with you, I don't care where we go." Kohaku replied sleepily. "I just want to be with you. I want to hold your hand."

"We'll be together from now on." Kakashi said softly, taking his hand. He shut his eye and smiled again. "I have something I want to ask you."

"What is it?" Kohaku asked as he burrowed closer, squeezing Kakashi's hand.

"Why don't you just keep living with me? You don't have to go back to your apartment, and...I've grown used to having you around." Kakashi asked, almost sounding hesitant.

"Of course. I wasn't planning on leaving, anyway. Even if you didn't share my feelings, you were going to be stuck with me. You make me feel safe, and living with you has made me comfortable enough to relax." Kohaku smiled a little when he heard Kakashi chuckle.

"You don't have to sleep on the couch anymore." Kakashi said softly. "We can just sleep like this."

Kohaku nodded slightly, yawning a little. He was still exhausted, and admittedly, it was hard to stay awake. "I'd really like that." He paused for a moment before continuing. "You should really get some rest, though. I love you."

Kakashi couldn't help the way his cheeks tinted red as he leaned closer and gave him a gentle kiss through his mask. "I love you, too."


	28. Chapter 28

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Kohaku was relieved when he was finally allowed to leave the hospital. He felt that he'd been stuck there for entirely too long and had grown restless.

Hisayo had been roomed with him while they both recovered, and together they had hatched escape plans, which had led to one or both of their collapses each time. It had been those mischievous escape attempts that had extended their stays in the end, and each of them ended up staying in the hospital a week longer than they had originally been meant to stay because they clearly could not be trusted to rest.

Finally, they had been released, and Kohaku was happy to see that Kakashi was waiting outside for him, leaned against the building, book in hand. Nozomu laid sprawled next to his feet, tongue lolling out of her mouth as she snored peacefully.

Kohaku couldn't help but smile a little, an action that was becoming more natural to him as time went on. He made his way over to Kakashi, who was pretending not to notice his sudden appearance.

"Sorry I kept you waiting." He said, reaching down to pet Nozomu gently. "Niizuma-san wanted to make sure there was very little chance of having me end up back in the hospital…" He picked up the sleeping puppy and smiled at Kakashi again when he glanced up and saw that he'd put his book away.

"Glad to see you." Kakashi said casually, as if he hadn't been spending every spare moment he had in Kohaku's hospital room.

Kohaku smiled, grunting with the strain of lifting his oversized puppy, who had grown entirely too much while he'd been in the hospital. "Glad to see you, too, but...I have to ask...what have you been feeding my puppy?"

"I've been feeding her the normal amount for a dog her size." Kakashi replied, frowning beneath his mask as he took the large puppy from him. "Be careful. You just got discharged today...I don't want you getting sent back to the hospital because you tried to lift your monster dog and got crushed…"

"She's not that big yet." Kohaku said, though he sighed in relief when Kakashi took her from him. He smiled a bit and took a moment to collect his thoughts before speaking the words he had never thought he would say, "I'm ready to go home."

* * *

The following month, the council convened to decide what to do with Obito. He had surrendered shortly after Kohaku had collapsed, having realized the truth in his words. Ever since, he had been kept carefully contained.

The fact was, Obito had hurt a lot of people, and even though he had surrendered and turned himself in, he couldn't just be released back into the general public without heavy restrictions being set in place in the off chance that it was all an act.

It was Kohaku's word that convinced the council to let Obito at least try to redeem himself instead of just executing him for his traitorous actions. He had told the council of his own experience in dealing with Uchiha Madara and had explained the lengths he had gone to to manipulate himself, and that it had most likely been the same with Obito.

It was enough to buy Obito a chance. The road would be long and difficult for him, but Kohaku had promised that he would help, and Kakashi had silently agreed to support him as well. They were friends, after all.

For the time being, Obito was sentenced to house arrest for at least two years with chakra limiters. If he had good behavior, his future would be discussed at the end of the two year period. Only time would tell whether or not Obito could ever truly return as a shinobi of the leaf, but...there was hope.

Ichika was not so lucky. She had been taken in by force and hadn't stopped fighting the entire way. She had been deemed unfit and had, as such, been imprisoned. It was unlikely that she would ever be given a second chance.

Senga Matabei had been killed in his fight with Hisahito, but there had been sufficient evidence, namely the golden kunai that he alone wielded, to prove that he had been responsible for the Kanemaru clan massacre. His body had been burned, and not a trace of him was left behind.

At the discovery of Kohaku's newfound connection to the Kanemaru clan, the council had granted him the rights of the Kanemaru compound. As the sole remaining heir, it was up to him to decide what to do with it.

Kohaku had never had any attachment to the Kanemaru clan, not knowing who they were for the majority of his life. He decided to permanently close the compound, and instead make it a memorial to the fallen clan. It was all he could do for them now, but he often found himself wishing there was more he could do. After all, he was one of them, and his family had died to ensure his survival. Perhaps in another life, he would be able to tell them thank you in a more meaningful way.

Either way, that chapter of his life was over now. Kohaku had made peace with the injustices that he had suffered, and...he was ready to move on.

He knew things wouldn't be easy; they never were for shinobi, but he was ready to face whatever challenges faced him in the future.

Kohaku wasn't alone anymore. He was surrounded by people who loved him, and...that was all that he needed.

* * *

A/N: Thank you all for reading! This last chapter is a little short, but I do hope you all enjoyed it all the same! This fic was mostly started to get me writing again after major burnout, and it's not perfect, but it's been really enjoyable to write something like this again, and I really hope you guys enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. Thank you all for your wonderful support, and I hope you'll continue to enjoy my fics!

wyattharto8: I'm super happy you enjoyed desiderium! It's been one of my favorite things to write! And I'm doing my best to take care of myself during all the craziness happening in the world, thank you! I hope you're also taking care of yourself! Stay safe!


End file.
